Cerro Kamuk (also known as Cerro Pico Blanco) is a mountain in the Cordillera de Talamanca, in

La Amistad International Park La Amistad International Park, or in Spanish , formerly La Amistad National Park, is a transboundary protected area in Latin America, management of which is shared between Costa Rica ( Caribbean La Amistad and Pacific La Amistad Conservation Area ...

, in eastern

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, close to the border with

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. It rises to above sea level. It is one of the highest mountains in Central America. Indigenous peoples of the area include the Bribris and Cabecar. The area protected comprised four national parks clustered together that became La Amistad Biosphere Reserve.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

declared it a natural

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1983. It is part of the

Mesoamerican Biological Corridor The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC) is a region that consists of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and some southern states of Mexico. The area acts as a natural land bridge from South America to North ...

, UNESCO's project shared by eight Central American countries (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and Mexico) to help protect the remaining pristine mountain forest and wildlife of

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

Access

A trail has been established to access the peak, which begins in the small community of Tres Colinas (Tres Colinas can be accessed by four-wheel drive from the town of Portero Grande). Access to the trail is primarily managed through the community-based organization called Asotur Tres Colinas. The

National System of Conservation Areas National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC, ) is part of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) of Costa Rica. It is the administrator for the nation's national parks, conservation areas, and other protected natural areas. Created in 199 ...

or SINAC also has a station in Tres Colinas, but as of March 2020 it is not being staffed. The trek is 55 kilometers round trip with three designated camp areas along the route. Camp 1 is located just after kilometer along a small creek, camp 2 is at kilometer and also along a creek, and camp 3 is at kilometer , and the summit is at . Asotur currently requires that all parties be accompanied by a guide when entering the park via the Cerro Kamuk trail. The trail follows the ridge and crosses many other peaks including: Kutsi, Bekom, Kasir, Nai, Dudo, and Apri before arriving at Kamuk. Water is only easily accessible at camp areas.

Flora and Fauna

The trail to Kamuk begins amidst former agricultural lands that are being reclaimed by forest, and then enters montane oak forest rich with

epiphytes An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

, at higher elevation the trail passes through peat bogs, and eventually enters

páramo Páramo () may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

Chusquea ''Chusquea'' is a genus of evergreen bamboos in the grass family. Most of them are native to mountain habitats in Latin America, from Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina. They are sometimes referred to as South American mountain bamboos. Unl ...

bamboo is common along the trail especially at higher elevation. The area is home to abundant wildlife including puma, jaguar,

tayra The tayra (''Eira barbara'') is an omnivorous animal from the mustelid family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus ''Eira''. Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' ...

brocket deer Brockets or brocket deer are the species of deer in the genus ''Mazama''. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad. Most species are primarily found in fores ...

and

tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a Suidae, pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk (proboscis). Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, South and Centr ...

.Dr. Mike Mooring, Dr. Ryan Botts. Abner Rodriguez, Timothy Wiegman, Amy Eppert,Steven Blankenship
"Talamanca Large Mammal Study-Progress Report 2018"
''Department of Biology, Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego, CA'', January 2019. Retrieved 3/21/2020.

External links

Asotur Tres Colinas
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References

Kamuk Kamuk North American 3000 m summits {{Limón-geo-stub