The Utría National Natural Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Natural Ensenada de Utría) is a protected area located in the Chocó Department of Colombia. The park is home to a wide variety of plant and animal life in thick rainforests with mountains. It receives some of the highest rainfall in the world, up to 10,000 millimeters (about 390 inches) each year. The park also safeguards coastal ocean areas. Humpback whales visit the lagoon, which gives the park its name, to give birth, and sea turtles nest on the beaches. The park offers places to stay for visitors. Tourism activities that help protect the environment are led by local indigenous people and members of nearby Afro-Colombian communities.
Location
The Utría National Natural Park is located on the Pacific coast of Colombia in the Chocó Department. It covers parts of the towns of Bahía Solano, Nuquí, Bojayá, and Alto Baudó. The park includes land that is home to the Emberá indigenous people, who have kept their traditions over many years. Along the coast, there are fishing villages where Afro-Colombian people live. Both groups work to protect the environment.
The park is north of the Gulf of Tribugá. It is named after Ensenada de Utría (Utría Cove), a large lagoon filled with seawater at the northwest entrance of the park. This area is surrounded by grey beaches and mangroves. The park was established in 1987. It covers 54,380 hectares (134,400 acres), including both land and marine areas. Heights in the park range from 0 to 1,400 meters (0 to 4,593 feet) above sea level. The park includes part of the Baudó mountains. The Condoto, Condotico, and Valle rivers, as well as the Mundúquera stream, begin within the park.
The climate is warm and humid, with average temperatures between 23 and 30 °C (73 to 86 °F). At sea level, the average yearly temperature is 28 °C (82 °F). The park is in the Chocó region, which is one of the rainiest places on Earth, receiving up to 10,000 millimeters (390 inches) of rain each year. It rains on more than 300 days annually, with the most rain in October and the least in February.
Marine environment
Coral reefs along the shore are home to 11 of the 16 coral species found in the Pacific region. These include branched corals from the Pocillopora and Porites groups, Psammocora stellata, three types of Pavona corals, and Gardineroseris planulata. Over 81 species of mollusks live in the area, such as the Eastern Pacific giant conch (Lobatus galeatus) and ark clams from the Anadara genus, which provide food for local communities. More than 180 fish species live in the region, ranging from small gobies to the large whale shark (Rhincodon typus).
Sea turtles visit the beaches during nesting season. The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is the most common species nesting at Cuevita Beach. Other turtles, such as the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), are occasionally seen. Common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and oceanic dolphins from the Stenella genus are present all year. Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), killer whales (Orcinus orca), and Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) are occasional visitors. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) arrive between June and November. They use Utría Cove to give birth from August to October.
Forest environment
The park has many types of trees, including timber species like cohíba, which is a symbol of the Chocó Department, níspero, comino, abarco, ceiba, carbonero, guayacán, caracolí (used to build coastal boats), and oquendo (used by Black and Indigenous communities to make crafts). Palms such as chontaduro and mil pesos are important food sources for local people, and iraca is used to create crafts. The area also has many medicinal plants and seven of the ten mangrove species found along the Colombian Pacific coast.
The forest is home to animals like the jaguar (Panthera onca), cougar (Puma concolor), brocket deer (genus Mazama), white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), mantled howler (Alouatta palliata), black-headed spider monkey (Ateles fusciceps), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus), lowland paca (Cuniculus paca), and Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata). The area also has many reptiles and amphibians. There are about 380 bird species in all parts of the forest, showing a very high number of different species.
Visiting
The park is open to the public. It can be reached by a flight from Medellín to Bahía Solano or Nuquí. From Bahía Solano, there is a road to the village of El Valle, and then a walk through a humid tropical forest to the park, which takes about three hours. The park can also be reached by boat from Buenaventura to Bahía Solano, Nuquí, or El Valle, a trip that takes about 26 hours. From there, a boat ride to the park takes 30 to 50 minutes. The park has an information center, a restaurant, and cabins at the Jaibaná visitor center that can sleep up to 31 people.
The Corporación Mano Cambiada, a non-profit community organization, offers ecotourism services. There are several trails through the park with low to moderate difficulty. The park has beautiful beaches, and visitors may swim, snorkel, or scuba dive. Visitors must carry identification and medical insurance and must have been vaccinated for tetanus and yellow fever at least ten days before visiting the park. Drinking alcohol is not allowed. Visitors must not bring pets, carry firearms, make noise that would disturb the environment, make fires, or use aerosols or harmful items like non-biodegradable soaps. Visitors must remove all solid waste they create before leaving the park.