With an extension of 1,518 hectares, La Marta Wildlife Refuge is in Cartago, part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve La Amistad, 60% of its territory corresponds to primary forest while the remaining 40% is secondary forest in different stages of natural regeneration. Located just two and a half hours away from San José this is a great location for a one day tour in Costa Rica.

The way to La Marta Wildlife Refuge has amazing scenic views, and in the refugee you will find camping areas, cabins and picnic areas. The rivers La Marta and Gato along with the topography of the area and the altitude allows for a variety of habitats and therefore many different species of animals and plants; perhaps the only downfall is that this area receives a lot of rainfall.

La Marta is ideal for a day surrounded by nature; here you can truly breathe fresh air. They offer different tours, a historic tour that takes you to the ruins of what used to be La Marta Hacienda at the end of the XIX century; a natural history tour, which involves 17 kilometers of trails in which you can expect to come across raccoons, anteaters, jaguars, sloths, birds, etc. if the weather allows it you may be able to enjoy a refreshing bath in the crystalline river pools; the night tour is a very different experience and allows you to see nocturnal animals; and of course the birdwatching tour, this area has a large number of native and migratory species.

The hacienda used to be in an area of about 500 hectares; it is believed to have been established at around 1870 after the United States Civil War when many of the big landowners were forced to leave and settled in different parts of the world. Apparently a group of Americans joined British businessmen and they sent a team to Costa Rica, and they found in La Marta the perfect place for the production of coffee, banana, cocoa and sugar cane. All that is left today are the ruins of the hacienda.

A mudslide that was caused by the overflow of Gato river in December of 1930, killed most of the people that used to still live and work here. The fact that many of the inhabitants of this area of Cartago are blond and blue eyed is believed to be because they descend from this group of foreigners that had these physical characteristics.

La Marta was abandoned from 1930 to 1990 but in 1991 the area of the hacienda and an additional 1000 hectares were acquired by the Science and Technology University (ULACIT) with the purpose of protecting the forest; in 2006, ULACIT relinquished the administration to the Castro Carazo Metropolitan University . This became the first privately owned wildlife refuge in the country.