Size: 2,400 hectares
Distance from San José: 115 kilometers
Dry Season: January through April

The refuge is located near the town of Miramar, in southern Guanacaste province. There are no visitor facilities to speak of. It is possible to camp in the backcountry, along the river. The nearest hotels are in Miramar, Esparza and Puntarenas downtown.

Peñas Blancas Refuge is located on rugged terrain of volcanic origin with peaks that go from 600 to 1,400 meters. The refuge takes its name of "White Cliffs" from the diamomite deposits in the canyons of some of the river beds or where there have been landslides in the upper regions. Diatomite is a porous sedimentary rock that is whitish in color and formed by the accumulation of siliceous shells left by diatom seaweeds of marine or lake origin. Much of the original forest has been altered to some extent, but in the more rugged tracts and in the river canyons the forest cover remains almost intact. A fairly deep canyon can be found in the Jabonal River, which more or less crosses through the center of the refuge.

Towards the south in the lower regions of the refuge, the typical vegetation is tropical dry forest. Towards the lower middle region of the refuge, the forest are semi-deciduous and are typically composed of Pacific Dry and are typically composed of Pacific Dry zone species, with some wet zone species. The upper middle section towards the north is composed of typical premontane moist forest species.

This wilderness area has been set aside to protect the watersheds of several rivers, to conserve the forests, and to increase the wildlife.

Animals seen here: collared peccary, howler monkey, white-faced capuchin monkey, kinkajou, red brocket, common raccoon, black-eared opossum and paca, many species of butterflies and lot's of birds.

Species of trees: species as the spiny cedar, gumbo-limbo, mayflower, wild plum, freijo and spanish cedar.