Location: 1.6 km east from Pejibaye, about a 30 minute drive from Turrialba, district: Pejibaye, canton: Jimenez, province: Cartago, Costa Rica. Zone postal code: 30403.
GPS Coordinates: 9.7830802, -83.6887918 (9°46’59.09″N, 83°41’19.65″W)
Size: 1,500 ha (3,200 acres)
Altitude: from 750 m to 1.950 m (6,400′) above sea level
Schedule: from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
La Marta Wildlife Refuge Phone: +506 8913-8691
UMCA Phone: +506 2542-0350 / +506 2542-0300 ext. 507
Central Volcanic Cordillera Conservation Area (ACCVC) Telephone: +506 2268-1587 / +506 2268-8091
INFOTUR Tourist Information: 1192
Website: www.lamarta.org
La Marta Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica was created on October 25th, 1993, in order to protect the river basins of La Marta, Gato and Atirro just northwest of the Rio Macho Forest Reserve, near Pejibaye town in Cartago. With an average annual 
temperature between 20ºC and 30ºC (65ºF and 85ºF) and rainfall of 180 inches, the reserve has a very abrupt mountainous topography with lots of rivers, waterfalls, caves and primary forests, and it’s elevation ranges from 750 to 1,950 meters above sea level.
La Marta National Wildlife Refuge is one of the major fronts of contention in the progress of agricultural settlement on the western slopes of the Talamanca Mountain Range, and is the gateway to the Tapanti and La Amistad National Parks, it was designated by UNESCO as a Natural Heritage site of Humanity, in 1983, due to its rich biodiversity.
Historically, La Marta began as an important agricultural development center in the 1800s, where the infrastructure to grow and process coffee and sugarcane, a small sawmill, dairy and hydroelectric plant, can still be seen near the park’s entrance.
During the late 1920s, the site was abandoned by the owners, which caused a migration of inhabitants and workers to settle in Pejibaye town. For the next 60 years, the forest regenerated. During the 1980s, squatters moved in and destroyed portions of the forest for housing and the cultivation of banana, coffee, and cattle. By 1991, the squatters were expelled and Latin American University of Science and Technology (ULACIT) was responsible for defining the area as a protected site, a wildlife refuge where visitors are welcome to walk and explore the many available trails in La Marta.
La Marta National Wildlife Refuge is also characterized by its rich flora, due to its abundance of epiphytes, mosses, lichens, orchids, bromeliads, with several layers of forests 
with palms and timber species such as Terminalias, Cedrela tubiflora, Licanias Arborea.
Today, La Marta is a wildlife refuge managed by the Universidad Metropolitana Castro Carazo (UMCA), which has a research station where scientists and students in the fields of biology, history, land forestry, and traditional medicine live and work.
At La Marta National Wildlife Refuge visitors will find many and varied attractions, to enjoy in a healthy and different way the wonders of the rainforest. The refuge has indoor areas for camping and a lodge. Other nearby Costa Rica Parks includes Rio Macho and Rio Pacuare Forest Reserves, Tapanti National Park and La Amistad International Park.
Getting to La Marta National Wildlife Refuge:
From San Jose take the highway to Cartago. Then take the road to Paraiso and Cervantes. Just before Juan Viñas, take the exit to Pejibaye. From there are another 1.6 km to the east on the main road to the Olas River intersection.
BY BUS
Take a bus from the route San Jose – Cartago, which takes about 1 hour (Lumaca, +506 2537- 2320 / +506 2537-0347) and then you have to take another bus Cartago – Pejibaye – El Humo, making the stop at Pejibaye downtown (Coopepar R.L, +506 2574-6127). From here you can take a taxi to La Marta Wildlife Refuge, which is about 10 minutes.
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