The Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge is located near the city of Heredia, 20 kilometers northeast of the National University, on the borders of the Braulio Carrillo National Park.
How to get there?
Take the route that goes towards the Castillo Country Club in San Rafael de Heredia (from the northwest corner of the church of San Rafael it’s 4.9 km north).
Passing El Castillo, continue 1km more and turn right, towards Monte de la Cruz. Continue 3km along the ballast road, the signs will guide you.
with Waze
What to bring?
Sporty clothes, trail tennis shoes, windbreaker or waterproof jacket, extra clothes to change in the car.
Food?
Snacks for the road and 1 bottle of water.
COST:
₡ 3000 entry (cash)
₡ 3500 lunches
₡ 1500 coffee and hot chocolate
Last weekend we few hours available and a burning desire to go out and explore, so we decided to go to Cerro Danta. This epic place is super close to the city, and it takes us to the limits of the Braulio Carrillo National Park.
Despite the fact that towards the Heredian mountains there was a very dark cloud taking over, we followed our course with an excellent attitude, getting closer and closer to the starting place, the water was present, and the downpour was inevitable. We are not going to lie, we hesitated a bit our departure from the car, but a few minutes later we saw some people who arrived at the same place and they got off the car without thinking twice and started walking as if the downpour was not a worry whatsoever, so we did the same and we started walking 1.9 km to Cerro Dantas.
The road begins like if it was a street for 4 × 4’s or tractors with very good puddles and mud (in the winter), and then it is transformed into a path made of masonry stones until it reaches the first of 4 bridges. Each of these is a mandatory stop, look down, let the sound and movement of the water hypnotize you and take some pictures.
The road is very well marked between farms and some paddocks, always with a predominant slope down. When you get halfway, the road begins to have slippery trunks on the path to avoid sinking into the mud, and to the Cerro Dantas Refuge, where you will cross the coolest bridge of all, which is made from rope and just to be safe, one person should cross at a time.
Once crossed this rope bridge above, you will arrive at the Refuge where a person in charge of the place will charge the entrance, explaining where the paths are that exist and which are safe to walk. The 2 main paths are towards waterfalls that depending on the time of year and the climate can be with little flow or with a head of water, so it is always good to be careful. The place has a very special scenic beauty, where the rainforest along with the streams has a fundamental role.
Then to end this trip beautifully, in the refuge, there is a small dining room where they sell lunch, coffee and hot chocolate ideal for that climate in the mountains. On the way back, it is by the same road, thankfully the rain had dropped and we arrived at the car without major setbacks.
Hike:2 hours
Difficulty:Moderate
