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Las Iguanas Bridge (Muelle)

Also known as: Puente de las iguanas

The Route 35 bridge over the San Rafael River in Muelle where, according to a travel guide, iguanas can be seen in the bamboo and trees. We keep it under review for safety and because of pending works.

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La Nación (October 2025) calls it the "iguana bridge" and says tourists and locals use it. Lonely Planet describes countless iguanas in the bamboo and trees above the river, but its listing is undated.

The current bridge is 4.9 m wide, single-lane, has no sidewalk and La Nación says it is at risk. CONAVI plans to demolish it to build a two-lane bridge; as of June 2026 there was no closure date, and during the works there would be a temporary pedestrian crossing (San Carlos Digital). There is a private business next to the bridge; we do not know whether you can watch from there without buying anything.

Precautions

What we don't know yet

  • Whether the iguanas are still there in 2026 and whether the works affected the trees.
  • A safe public place to park and watch.

Know something that would help verify it? Tell us

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from these sources. The date is when we checked them.

  1. La Nación – Importante ruta para exportadores tendrá cierres por arreglo de puente National media

    Popular name, bridge width, at-risk condition and widening.

    nacion.com · published · checked on

  2. Lonely Planet – Centro Turístico Las Iguanas Travel guide

    Iguanas in the bamboo and trees above the river (undated).

    lonelyplanet.com · checked on

  3. San Carlos Digital – CONAVI suspende inicio de obras en el puente Las Iguanas durante abril Local media

    The current single-lane bridge remains in use; demolition within 300 days.

    sancarlosdigital.com · published · checked on

  4. San Carlos Digital – CONAVI rechaza instalar puente Bailey en Muelle Local media

    Conditions for the closure (June 2026).

    sancarlosdigital.com · published · checked on

  5. San Carlos Digital – Puente Las Iguanas cerrará hasta tener aprobado el plan de tránsito Local media

    Pedestrian crossing during the works.

    sancarlosdigital.com · published · checked on

  6. OpenStreetMap — Puente de las iguanas, Muelle (nodo 365319526) Map

    Location of the bridge.

    openstreetmap.org · checked on

  7. Enrutador FOSSGIS/OSRM sobre datos de OpenStreetMap (routing.openstreetmap.de) Map

    Estimated driving distance from La Fortuna's central park.

    routing.openstreetmap.de · checked on