Only the most intrepid of nature enthusiasts will make the journey to Hitoy-Cerere, about 60km south of Puerto Limón and only accessible by 4WD along a rugged dirt track. The 99-sq-km reserve sits on the edge of the Cordillera de Talamanca, characterized by varying altitudes, evergreen forests and rushing rivers. This is one of the wettest reserves in the park system, inundated with 4000mm to 6000mm of rain annually.
Naturally, wildlife is abundant. The most commonly sighted mammals include gray four-eyed opossums, tayras (a type of weasel), and howler and capuchin monkeys. There are plenty of ornithological delights as well (the area is home to more than 230 avian species), including keel-billed toucans, spectacled owls and the green kingfisher. And you can hardly miss the Montezuma oropendola, whose massive nests dangle from the trees like twiggy pendulums. The moisture, in the meantime, keeps the place hopping with various species of poison-dart frog.
