hidden· Secluded· Hiking· Dry Forest

Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco

Costa Rica's first protected area ends in a wild beach almost nobody reaches

4.7(3 reviews)

Cabo Blanco

Best Time to Go

“Quieter and more ethereal at dawn”

About this place

Cabo Blanco was established in 1963 by a Danish couple who recognised that the dry-forest tip of the Nicoya Peninsula was being rapidly cleared and bought it to protect it. The reserve has been minimally managed since then — no concessions, no food stalls, no interpretation centre beyond a basic ranger station. The result is one of the most mature patches of secondary forest on the peninsula: tall, dense, and full of howler monkeys, coatis, and white-nosed peccaries. Two trails lead south to the Pacific coast at the reserve's tip. Sendero Sueco, the longer route at four kilometres each way, emerges onto a wild beach of dark sand and open Pacific surf backed by high cliffs and fig trees. Almost nobody reaches it. The eight-kilometre return takes most visitors three hours at a comfortable pace and the forest section alone justifies the walk. The reserve is closed Monday and Tuesday.

What People Say

4.7· 3

Nadia O.

February 2025

Sendero Sueco to the beach and back — eight kilometres total. The forest on this trail is the most mature I walked anywhere in Costa Rica outside of Corcovado: tall, dense, dark, full of howler monkeys whose calls you can hear from the parking area before you even enter. The beach at the end is deserted and wild in a way that feels genuinely different from the tourist beaches of the Nicoya peninsula. Worth every step.

✦ Forest is the most mature on the Nicoya peninsula✦ Beach at the end is genuinely deserted — worth the full trail

Ben S.

January 2025

The Danes who created this reserve chose well. The trail is demanding in a satisfying way — long enough that casual day-trippers often turn back, which keeps the far sections quiet. We saw a white-nosed peccary family on the way back, which the ranger at the entrance said was unusual. The historical weight of this place — the first protected area in Costa Rica — is light but present. A good place to spend a morning.

✦ Peccary sightings rare but possible on the return trail✦ Reserve closes Monday and Tuesday — check before going

Camila V.

March 2025

The full Sueco trail is genuinely demanding in the heat — allow three hours return and bring more water than you think you need. The reserve closes Monday and Tuesday which caught us out on a first attempt. The forest is extraordinary but the trail is not casual. The beach at the end is the reward and it is earned.

✦ Bring significantly more water than you think✦ Closed Monday and Tuesday — plan accordingly