Costa Rica's Precious National Parks

While much of Costa Rica has been stripped of its forests, the country has managed to protect a larger proportion of its land than any other country in the world. In 1970 there came a growing acknowledgment that something unique and wonderful was vanishing. Costa Rica National Parks include a wide variety of terrain and volcanos.

Costa Rica Wildlife

Since then, a systematic effort begun to be put in place to save what was left of this wilderness. Costa Rica's progressive policies on environmental protection and sustainable ecotourism in the National Parks System have been lauded as a model for other countries. The rainforests, tropical forests, marine areas and wetlands of Costa Rica are the subject of many university and scientific organization studies. The enrichment of the world's knowledge of these important habitats is an invaluable contribution from the National Parks System of Costa Rica. There are currently more than 26 National Parks in Costa Rica.

The Yellowstones and Yosemites of Costa Rica--the lure for 90 percent of all visitors to the park system--are Manuel Antonio, with its beautiful beaches; Braulio Carrillo, with its rainforest located minutes from the capital city of San Jose; Tortuguero, a watery, forested world teeming with wildlife; Irazú, where on a clear day you can see both the Caribbean and the Pacific; and Poás, where you can peer into a steaming crater and see the earth's crust being rearranged.

The Cordillera de Talamanca is home to an impressive collection of national parks and other preserved areas, including the La Amistad International Park, which extends into Panama. On the southern Osa Peninsula is the internationally renowned Corcovado National Park, which preserves a remnant of sizeable lowland tropical rainforest that is unique in the world.

Besides providing Costa Ricans and foreign travelers with the privilege of admiring and studying the wonders of nature, the national parks and reserves protect the soil and watersheds and harbor an estimated 75 percent of all Costa Rica's species of flora and fauna, including species that have all but disappeared in neighboring countries. Here are some of Costa Rica's most popular National Parks:

ARENAL VOLCANO NATIONAL PARK 
BARRA HONDA NATIONAL PARK
BRAULIO CARRILLO NATIONAL PARK  
CAHUITA NATIONAL PARK
CHIRRIPÓ NATIONAL PARK