The Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve is located in San Ramón de Bagaces, 15 km to the Southwest of the city of Bagaces, in the province of Guanacaste. It was created as a national protectorate on January 23, 1986, by the Executive Decree no. 16849-MAG and comprises an area of 2,279 hectares.

This reserve protects a dry tropical rain forest, rich in insect species (particularly bees), wasps and butterflies, diurnal and nocturnal ones. It is estimated that about 250 bee species and 60 nocturnal butterfly species live here.

Another feature that makes the Lomas Barbudal a very important wildlife area is the presence, even during the summer, of abundant water springs, such as the river Cabuyo, and numerous gorges.

Barbudal owns various groups of plants, such as the wooded savannah, the evergreen forest, the riparian forest, which is situated next to the water courses, and the tropical dry forest, being the one of the greatest extension. In the defoliating forest the major part of trees lose their leaves during the dry season. The most common species are: the pochote tree, the “indio desnudo” (Spanish for: “the naked Indian”), the jobo, the “corteza amarillo”, the ron-ron, the laurel, the “canilla de mula” and the “malacahuite”.

The riverside forests are located alongside the rivers and gorges. These are evergreen forests, dense and diverse and extraordinarily rich in solitary bees. The espavel-tree, the guapinol-tree, the medlar, the cinnamon-tree, the yellow ojoche-tree and the cócora palm tree are common species in this type of forest.

The savannah is an open area, covered with pasture and dispersed trees with species of the chumico-tree (or raspaguacal). In Lomas Barbudal you will find timber producing tree species, such as the ron-ron, the pochote, the cristóbal, the mahogany-tree and the cocobolo (species of a coconut-tree), which is in danger of extinction in the rest of the country.

Many of these trees, shrubs and great quantities of other minor plants are excellent producers of fruits, nectar, oil and pollen for the birds, mammals and insects, such as domestic and wild bees. There are approximately 250 bee species in Lomas Barbudal. These species cover this area, which is of great entomological importance, due to the fact that many of the species living there are unique in the whole country and in Lomas Barbudal you will find them in a high concentration in number and diversity, in a relatively small area as the wooded savannah.

The mammals are not very numerous. Nonetheless you may observe the white-tailed deer, the congo ape and the white-faced ape, the raccoon, the coati, the saíno (a pig species), squirrels and the “león breñero” wildcat, among others. Furthermore you may observe reptiles and fish in great quantities.

As for the birds, in this area approximately 130 species have been observed, with the  peacock being the most characteristic one, the yellow-crested parrot, the vulture and the toucan.