All 2 in 3 days here: ~80%
Cahuita National Park
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Southern Caribbean, Costa Rica 975 spp. recorded
Cahuita protects Costa Rica's most important coral reef — 600 hectares of living reef with over 35 coral species and 123 fish species — alongside a stunning coastal trail through tropical rainforest. The park is a Caribbean wildlife hotspot where white-faced capuchins, howler monkeys, sloths, and raccoons are encountered at remarkably close range along the beach trail. One of the few parks with voluntary donation entry.
9.815° N 82.704° W
🦜 Nature
512 Species sighted
41,117 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Oct Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 567 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
All 4 in 3 days here: ~60%
All 3 in 3 days here: ~30%
All 2 in 3 days here: ~10%
Recent sightings in Cahuita National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
46Jan
44Feb
51Mar
45Apr
38May
41Jun
39Jul
45Aug
50Sep
53Oct
46Nov
47Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Punta Cahuita
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Central American White-faced Capuchin~90%+20%
Common Raccoon~80%+10%
Four-lined Ameiva~70%+30%
Mantled Howler Monkey~60%+10%
White-nosed Coati~60%+20%
Brown Basilisk~60%+10%
Middle American Ameiva~50%+10%
Brown-throated Sloth~50%+10%
Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth~50%-10%
White-throated Gecko~50%≈
Red-tailed Squirrel~40%+10%
Basiisk Verde~40%-10%
-
Oficina Parque Nacional Cahuita
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
South park edge
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Great Kiskadee~70%≈
Green and Black Dart-poison Frog~70%+10%- Mantled Howler Monkey~60%+10%
- Basiisk Verde~50%≈
- Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth~50%-10%
- Common Raccoon~50%-20%
- Central American White-faced Capuchin~50%-20%
Montezuma Oropendola~40%-10%- White-throated Gecko~40%-10%
Black Vulture~40%-30%
Keel-billed Toucan~40%-10%
Masked Tree Frog~30%+10%
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
Medium
Typical stay
1–2
daysTrails
Easy
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.2
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 576
🐒 Mammals 198
🦎 Reptiles 135
🐸 Amphibians 66
975 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
38 Threatened 54 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.6
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
58% 📊
Coverage (244 species at ≥5% of 975 in the inventory)
25% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (6 bird, 4 mammal, 1 reptile, 1 amphibian)
83% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
148 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
17 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
27 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.6
Climate Mixed Medium
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism High Low
Trails Easy High
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
We also spotted plenty of raccoons and an agouti moving through the undergrowth.
I overheard a guide telling his group that he had seen a crocodile in the ocean the day before.
A sloth was in the top of the trees, I just saw it with the help of a guide, otherwise no chance, it was too far away.
The second point of our big excursion was a visit to the Cahuita National Park.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Cahuita National Park?
975 species
Cahuita National Park has 975 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Central American White-faced Capuchin (about 70%), Common Raccoon (about 70%), Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth (about 70%), Black Vulture (about 60%) and Great Kiskadee (about 60%). Among reptiles, the most-seen is Basiisk Verde (about 60%); among amphibians, Green and Black Dart-poison Frog (about 50%).
When is the best time to visit Cahuita National Park for wildlife?
August, October and December–March
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 60% on a given day, against about 50% in April–July, September and November.
Can you see a Central American White-faced Capuchin in Cahuita National Park?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Central American White-faced Capuchin sighting in Cahuita National Park on a given day, based on 327 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January–February and May (about 80%).
Can you see a Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth in Cahuita National Park?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth sighting in Cahuita National Park on a given day, based on 276 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is May, August and December–March (about 70%).
Can you see a Basiisk Verde in Cahuita National Park?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Basiisk Verde sighting in Cahuita National Park on a given day, based on 205 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is August and September (about 70%).
Can you see a Strawberry Poison-dart Frog in Cahuita National Park?
Yes
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Strawberry Poison-dart Frog sighting in Cahuita National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is October (about 50%).
Where in Cahuita National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Punta Cahuita
The richest sighting zone is around Punta Cahuita, followed by Oficina Parque Nacional Cahuita and South park edge, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Cahuita National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.8 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Cahuita National Park rates 3.8/5: 135th of 316 parks worldwide and 19th in Central America. 36 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
