Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge is one of the most beautiful scenic cities in the country. Fine sandy beaches, gentle waves, coral reefs near the surface of the sea all make this region a paradise for nature lovers and underwater enthusiasts.
The beaches are fringed with endless coconut trees and coral reefs extend as far as 200 metres offshore. The coral reefs that lie off Uva, Manzanillo and Mona Points cover 5 km2 and are mainly composed of:
Briareum Asbestinum
Siderastrea siderea, S. radians, Diploria clivosa, D. strigosa, Isophyllastresw rigida, Mycetophyllia Iamarckiana, Agaricities, A. fragilis, Acropora cerviconis and Porites astreoides corals.
Octocorals, which are colonies of polyps with 8 spiny tentacles, are very numerous. Some species are Briareum asbestinum, Muriceopsis flavida and M. sulphurca. Many of the fish that live in the waters of the reef are unusually attractive because of their brillant colours: queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris), French angelfish (Pomacanthus paru), Blue parrotfish (Scarus coeruleus), and spotfin butterflyfish (Chaetodon ocellatus).
A large part of the refuge is covered with forest and cultivated fields. The forest is made up mainly of holillo palm (Raphia taedigera) and sajo (Campnosperma panamensis).One of the tallest trees in the forest es the cativo (Prioria copaifera). The littoral woodland has mainly: coconut trees (Cocos nucifera) and sea grape (Coccoloba uvifera), Other species are the heliconias (Heliconia spp.), with beautiful inflorescences a with brightly colored bractlets, usually they are red and yellow. South of Manzanillo and Mona Points lies a swamp that covers about 400 hectares.
Other creatures that live on the reefs are:
Green Anemones
Lobsters (Panulirus argus), sponges, red urchins (Tripneustes ventricosus), and long-spined black urchins (Diadema antillarum), Venus sea fans (gorgonia ventalina), sea cucumbers (Holothuria sp.), white shrimp (Penaeus sp.), green anemones (Stoichactis heliantus), hydroids (stylaster roseus and Solandaria gracilis), (Holothuria sp.). Sometimes, you can see green turtles (Chelonia mydas).
It is also possible to see many species of animals: West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus), one of the largest mammals and seriosly endangered species in the country, crocodile (crocodylus acutus) tapir (Tapirus bairdii), cayman (Caiman crocodylus) and the paca (Agouti paca).
Some resident birds are: red-capped manakin (Pipra mentalis), sulphur-winged parakeet (Pyrrhura hoffmanni), broad-billed motmot (Electron platyrhynchum), collared aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus) and lineted woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus); keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus), ornate hawk-eagle (Spizaetus ornatus), which prefers to be in the tallest trees in the forest and which feeds on medium-size mammals, large lizards and snakes, red colored amazon (Amazona autumnalis),
Sea-borers help decompose the driftwood that is strewn over the beaches. Marine live in the coral reefs at gandoca-Manzanillo await the underwater explorer to reveal their delicate shapes and exquisite colours. A projet that is being developed by the National Park Service of Costa Rica will connect the coral reefs with the Chirripó Paramos by means of a continuous Biological Corridor.
Protected Areas 
