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Río Tárcoles Crocodile Bridge

One of the edgiest and most dangerous wildlife watching walks in Costa Rica will soon be tamed forever.  The famed Tárcoles River “crocodile” bridge is losing its fear factor.

American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus)
American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) along the banks of the Tarcoles river – notice the croc laughing because this article is humorous.

The MOPT (Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes) announced that the three month long project to widen the sidewalk on the Tárcoles bridge will be complete in March of 2020.

crocodile bridge
Tourists on the crocodile bridge from Google maps

For more than 30 years tourists risked their lives daily tight roping along the tiny lip of the bridge that looked more like a curb than a sidewalk.  Semi-trucks whizzed by inches from crushing skulls with their mirrors while hungry crocs waited below.

No more! The new sidewalk is 4 feet wide with a concrete barrier to keep the trucks and cars off and according to the minister of transportation’s facebook post –

“Una baranda de metal dará seguridad para reducir riesgos de que los peatones caigan al río.”
translates roughly to
“A metal railing will give security to reduce risks of pedestrians falling into the river.”

…implying that there’s still some chance of actually pitching into the water and ending up as a snack.

tarcoles crocodile bridge sidewalk construction
The new sidewalk meets Costa Rica’s strict accessibility laws and is wide enough for most wheelchairs

Still a Thrill?

Indeed, the danger has not been completely eliminated.  There’s still the running of the gauntlet of t-shirt, pipa and cell phone charger cord vendors to get out of the parking lot – you could get poked in the eye with one of those straws – but the serious adrenaline rush is no more.

If you have one of those “I survived the crocodile bridge” shirts from pre 2020 you can wear it proudly while regaling newbies with stories of the olden days when it really was a death defying feat.

Dozens of huge american crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus)
Crocodile bridge – Dozens of huge American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) gather in the mud under the famous bridge where the Costanera (Hwy 34) crosses the Tarcoles river west of Carara national park. Enterprising vendors have set up snack and souvenir stands where you can park (be careful of valuables left in your car) and walk out onto the bridge to see the monsters then buy a t-shirt that says “I survived the croc bridge”