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Costa Rica Attractions
are Immeasurable.

Risky activities make your heart beat faster. Costa Rica attractions
like hiking, water rafting, sky skiing and bungee jumping make the perfect vacations.

When you perform these type of acts you gain much a lot of
excitement, allowing you to step outside of your comfort zone. You
leave what you are used to do and see for awhile to experience culture
shock and do things that require significant effort and
involve some degree of risk and/or physical danger.

Youradrenaline kicks up making you feel like you are on a TV show or in an Indiana
Jones movie.

Can you imagine how exciting it is rafting in Costa Rica?
Now, if you like risk, you can't miss this!

The interesting thing about Costa Rica attractions is that a lot of
people are after them. This country is well known as a soft adventure
destination- one of the fastest growing elements for incentive programs
today.

This is a land of Volcanoes, Rainforest, Waterfalls, and Rivers. 
This tiny country is roughly the size of West Virginia but it is worldwide renowned for its
pioneering efforts in ecological conservation. But, what, exactly, is there to do?

The tourism zones are divided in six and each offers a wealth of exciting natural options with a twist:

Safety? Don’t worry. Adventure Tourism companies have to be awarded regulations and operation licenses from the different governmental entities. Even some international media have acknowledged our country as the best destination for adventure. Bird Watching Costa Rica offers a wide range of colorful- exotic birds. Canopy Canopying is an adventure that you cannot miss in Costa Rica. Deep Water Fishing What a satisfaction you feel when you trap the big fish! You will enjoy fishing here.

Canopying

North Pacific Zone

Arenal

North Pacific National Parks Arenal Santa Rosa Guanacaste Ostional National Wildlife Refuge Cabo Blanco Strict Nature Reserve Palo Verde Barra Honda Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve

Arenal National Park
It's maine attraction is the impressive Arenal volcano. This park is located at the northern end of the Tilaran Mountain Range. Wildlife watchers may see jaguars, deer and sloths; birds such as parrots, parakeets and quetzals; and snakes like the fer-de-lance and boa constrictor.

Santa Rosa National Park
Site of the battle of Santa Rosa, this park features 10 habitats including savannas consisting of jaragua glassland and various trees such as the live oak, as well as deciduous forests containing 240 species of trees and shrubs.

Guanacaste National Park
This parks biologically diverse forestlandscape includes rainforest, tropical wet  forest, cloud forest  and tropical dry forest landscapes.  Highlands consist of the massifs of the Orosi and Cacao volcanoes, the peaks of which are sorrounded by a primary forest harboring about 3,000 species of epiphytic plants.  About 300 species of birds have been identified.

Ostional National Wildlife Refuge
Situated on a stretch of beach between Punta India and the mouth of the Nosara River.  The refuge is an important nesting site for the Pacific Ridley sea turtle.

Cabo Blanco Strict Nature Reserve
Located on the southerb tip of the Nivoya Peninsula on the Pacific coast, this refuge is a marine bird sanctuary with numerous brown pelicans, frigate birds and laughing gulls.

Palo Verde National Park
The park is made up pf a mosaic of diverse floodplain habitats, including salt and freshwater lakes, mangrove swamps and evergreen forests.

Barra Honda National Park
A diverse network of underground caverns is the highlight of this park, including the noteworthy Terciopelo, Trampa and Santa Ana caves, which feature a profusion of stalagmites, pillars, shark's teeth and other formations.

Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve
Often called the "insect park", this reserve is home to betweebn 200 and 300 species of bees and 60 species of moths. Other features:deciduous forest, permanent rivers, many springs and 130 species of birdsm including a large populationof insect-eating birds.

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Costa Rica North Zone

Baby Baula Turtle

• Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge
• Caņo Negro National Wildlife Refuge
• Rincon de la Vieja National Park

Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge
Located in Limon Province, bordering the Barra del Colorado River on the Caribbean coast, the refuge consists of swampland almost totally devoid of any wooded areas.  While the top soil is unsuitable for supporting agriculture or livestock, the refuge is still popular with tourists for its wide range of wildlife.

Caņo Negro National Wildlife Refuge
The refuge is a birdwatcher's paradise, featuring cattle egrets, wood storks, anhingas and manh other species,  The refuge is also home to plants and animals not found anywhere in Costa Rica.

Rincon de la Vieja National Park
An active volvano with nine identified craters on the summit, Rincon de la Viena still has fumarole vents at the foor of the ridge in the Las Pailas area.  The park protects an importamt watersjed and is home to what is probably the largest existing growth of the national flower- the "guaria morada" or purple orchid. 

Tortuguero National Park
This is the most important nesting area for the green sea turtle in the western Caribbean.  The leatherback and hawksbill also nest along these beaches.

Costa Rica Atlantic Zone

Atlantic National Parks

• Hitoy-Verere Biological Reserve
• Cahuita National Park
• Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge
• La Amistad International Park

Hitoy-Verere Biological Reserve
One for adventure buffs, this reserve is characterized by steep inclines, rocky rivers with rapids and waterfalls, and tall trees in the upper elevations.

Cahuita National Park
Cahuita is home to one of three living coral reefs on the Caribbean coast. Its diverse marine life includes elkhorn, staghorn and brain corals, French angel fish, blue parrotfish, green turtles and various crustaceans.  Tours to the reef are available and skindiving is permitted.

Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge
The refuge is one of the most important in Costa Rica's vast national parks network, holding one of only two living coral reefs in the country.  The reef runs about 200 metters off the shoreline and features more than 60 species of tropical fish.

La Amistad International Park
Covered by dense rainforest and cloud forest, La Amistad International Park features nearly 400 species of birds.  A large portion of the park remains unexplored, but several research teams have canvassed its southwest corner and identified more than 130 varieties of orchids.

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Costa Rica South Zone

Chirripo Mountain

South National Parks

• Corcovado National Park
• Cano Island Biological Reserve
• Chirripo National Park
• Ballena National Marine Park

Corcovado National Park
The last remaining virgin rainforest in all of Central America, the park contains many birds and mammals that are on the worldwide endangered species lists, including the ocelot and the puma.

Cano Island Biological Reserve
One of Costa Rica's most interesting archaeological sites, the reserve was used as a cementery in pre-Columbian times.

Chirripo National Park
At 12,606 feet, Mt. Chirripo is the highest mountain in Costa Rica.  The park features lakes of glacial origin, extensive panoramas and cloud forests.

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Costa Rica Central Zone

Central Zone National Parks

• Irazu Volcano National Park
• Guayabo National Monument
  
• Tapanti National Park
• Braulio Carrillo National Park
• Poas Volcano National Park
  
• Carara Biological Reserve

Tree Frog

Irazu Volcano National Park
At more than 11,000 feet, Irazu is Costa Rica's highest volcano.  It has a long history of eruptions and eruptive cycles and features four craters at its summit. 

Guayabo National Monument
This is Costa Rica's most important archeological site, where the appeatance of human occupation may date back to 500 B.C.  Still standing are stone structures believed to have been built between 800 and 1400 A.D.

Tapanti National Park
Two life zones-lower montane rain forest and premontane rain forest-can be found at this park, where about 45 species of mammals exist, as well as 260 species of birds.

Braulio Carrillo National Park
Located in one of the most rugged landscapes in the country, Braulio Carrillo contains two extinct volcanoes-Cacho Negro, visible because of its conic shape, and Barva, which has several craters. The park is home to 6,000 identified species of trees, abundant birds, frogs and toads.

Poas Volcano National Park
Poas is one of the few active volcanos on the continent.  Visitors can observe active fumaroles at the bottom of the crater and four major habitats on the slopes.  Some of the 79 species of birds include the green toucan and flame-throated warbler. 

Carara Biological Reserve
Diverse plant life is the highlight of this biological reserve, with evergreens being particularly predominant.  Several ecosystems-including marshlands, a lagoon, and primary, secondary and gallery forests-are also featured.

Central Pacific Zone

National Parks

• Coco's Island National Park
• Manuel Antonio National Park

Manuel Antonio Beach

Coco's Island National Park
Covered by an evergreen forest with clouds covering the tallest peaks, Coco's Island features spectacular waterfalls and a turquoise sea with marine life including sharks, parrotfish, tuna and mantas.

The three endemic bird species are the Coco's Island finch, Coco's Island flycatcher and Coco's Island cuckoo.

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