Golfito Costa Rica History
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Golfito has been permanently settled for more than 1,200 years by the Bruncas Indians. The Spanish settlers Don Juan de Castañeda y Don Hernán Ponce de León arrived here in the early 1500’s, they only found a small village. For most of his history, Golfito has been a quiet small village. The town was developed into an industrial port in the early 1930’s when the United
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Fruit Company (UFC, now Chiquita Brands) set up operations here, along the southern Pacific. The port town was founded at the end of the twenties by the United Brand Banana Company. Within a short time it was built into a prosperous trade center. Golfito was the most important port at the south end of Costa Rica.
This city used to be a banana port town years ago until the United Fruit Company closed its operations due to declining sales, old infrastructure, Tax, and labor disputes. Their activities covered the region from around Golfito as far north as Palma Norte. They operated in the area from 1938 to 1985. United Brands Company is now part of Chiquita brands.
Its importance has decreased dramatically in the last years since in 1985 when the banana company left and gave most of their real estate in Golfito to the government. Following the departure of UFC the government established the Golfito Reserve or Refugio National de Vida Silvestre - establishing a kind of limited national park or wildlife refuge area. In later years a lot of the old banana fields were planted with African palm trees which the palm oil is still shipped out from Golfito
In April 1990 a duty-free shopping zone was opened in Golfito. It attracts ticos and foreigners from all over the country. This new duty-free tourism and a newly developing Eco-tourism industry around Golfito is helping to revive the region and boost the struggling local economy.
More and more travelers are attracted to visit the nearby national parks, reserve areas and botanical gardens, explore some of the worlds most pristine beaches or to take boat trips in the pristine Golfo Dulce (Sweet Bay) and the beautiful rivers, and estuaries.
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