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A decent swimming beach running for several kilomteres along the sea coast northwest of town. As the name suggest, the sand is dark-colored; it is also very fine, almost like mud; while the place is good for swimming, it is not particularly photogenic.
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Wildlife Rescue Center & Botanical Gardens
The botanical gardens have hundreds of different kinds of palms, heliconias, bromelias and many others. Visitors will experience an experience with the plants and animals of the tropical rain forest, nature walks under the canopy, many paved walkways, a beautiful beach in front of gardens, a nursery with export plants, close-up encounters with rescued animals and a gift shop.
This is actually one of the best national parks of Costa Rica. It has various different zones; beach, jungle, etc. and numerous and popular species. There is also a little white-sand beach just inside the park entrance. The beach is much more photogenic than Playa Negra. If you walk to the Puerto Vargas ranger station on the opposite end of the park you can catch a public bus back to Cahuita—stand on the northbound side of the road when the bus approaches, ₡400 (Mar 2012). The trail from entrance to this exit is about 9 km, but can take 3-4 hr, depending on how much time you plan to spend identifying all the wildlife.
Either way, it is best to go in at around 7AM when no one is there to see some animals normally hiding after the park gets busy or just during the day. And in case you go back at noon, you can stop where-ever big groups gather, because they stop for viewing (mostly large) animals.