by Rod Hughes

If your taste runs to nature without glittering hotels, casinos or celebrity nightlife, La Cangreja National Park is for you. As profiled by a recent issue of The Tico Times, this is the nation’s newest national park, five years old with miles of well-marked hiking trails.

It is less than three hours by car (four-wheel-drive helpful but not essential) from the capital and an hour from the central Pacific coast. The park itself has no beaches but contains rivers, waterfall, waterfalls, primary rainfoest, wildlife and, among the thousands of species of plants, two exist only in the park.

At only 5,500 acres, it is not the largest park but features a hard climb to the top of a 4,700 ft. tall peak that rewards the hiker with a view that includes the ocean. As explained by writer Carol Marujo, the area has a rich Indian history including its own legend about a warrior standing up to a huge crab and subduing it to become a rock landmark. (The park’s name is Spanish for female crab and the tale is told on the Web site www.lacangreja.com )

Dining and rustic accommodations are available at a fascinating organic cacao farm that can only be contacted through e-mail: billyenfrance@hotmail.com