Cuevas Murcielagos Wildlife Refuge

The title above is a mix of Spanish and English, which I used to help travelers understand what it’s called and what it is. The translation in English would be “Bat Cave Wildlife Refuge” or in Spanish, the full name is “Refugio de Vida Silvestre Cueva Murcielago, Costa Rica”

This area is not known well even to the people who live right by it. Most people think that Cueva Murcielagos is just part of Cabo Blanco, at the southern end of Malpais, but in fact it’s a separate place, although the two share a border.

Cueva Murcielagos was founded November 25, 1998 and is 93 hectares (183 acres), stretching from the beach all the way up into the mountains behind, reaching as high as 150m (942ft).

It has no services, park rangers, etc but there’s a single sign letting you know approximately where it is. I’ve done the best I can to research the exact borders, but have been unable to find a map of it so far. I have the approximate area shown on the Cabo Blanco map, left side, here: Best Cabo Blanco Park Map

More information about Cueva del Murcielagos:

Malpais Secret Beach – Cueva del Murcielagos has one of the most beautiful beaches in the area, which you can read about here.
Malpais Snorkeling Video – Video of sea life here in front of the refuge.

Nearby Points of Interest:

Malpais Canopy Tour
Cabo Blanco Park
Fishermen’s Beach
Sunset Reef Surf Spot