National Parks, Wildlife Refuges of Costa Rica

In this land of sun, plains and prairies we find an unmatched treasure: The biggest piece of dry tropical forest in all Central America. The old pastures and battle-fields tell the history of Costa Rica. It also offers a rich culture which became the sole of the Costa Rican Folklore.

Land of folkloric traditions and also of Bizcocho, Corn-Rice, Atol de Pujagua and the festivals of Esquipulas and Santiago where you hear songs of the yegüita and the retahílas. Because of its various landscapes and its beaches many tourist visit this lands. The land of sun, rice, sugar-cane, cowboys and friendly people.

The land of gentle people and natural riches. This region is home of more than half of all that live in Costa Rica, but still more than a quarter of it is protected land. Rich in different Eco-Systems it is the area with most endemic species that don't exist in other places. It is also the only considered patrimony of humanity.

Where the canals and the sky meet. This land includes the places where the Green Turtles lay their eggs, it is paradise to the manatee or sea cow, birds and plants. To get to the park one has to travel in boat through the channels and this wonderful experience allows one to admire the living things that are in the water and on the edge of the river.

Pacific: Costa Rica and Panama share the riches of Flora and Fauna. In it cohabit Italians, Natives, People from Panama and Costa Rica. It is the land of plants, fossils, glacier lakes, different eco-systems from the plains to the mountain-tops. For its unequalled richness it is proud to be categorized a Biosphere Reserve.

It's the largest protected zone of Costa Rica. Caribbean: Black, Chinese, White, Mestizos and Indians ... rice and beans, wan tan, chicken rice and mashed bananas with meat are dishes of the different ethnic groups that cohabit this land. Each one using the many riches of this bio-diversity in different ways. It's an overwhelming conservation area in which on can find over 90% of all plant specimens of Costa Rica.

A Mosaic of Land and Sea Eco-Systems. The land of the Jaguar, of wet forests and big varieties of eco-systems. It is the conservation districts with the largest number of mammals in danger of extinction. It takes the second place in the list of the bio-diversity of endemic species that only exist in Costa Rica. But there are still many natural wonders to discover on this land and the seas.

Land of contrasts and landscapes. From the coasts to the mountains, this is land full of contrasts, agriculture landscapes, and little explored villages and forests. It's also the home of sub-species of monkeys only found in Costa Rica: the titi monkey. Important region for flower diversity where there are endemic species only found in Costa Rica.

Huetar Norte is the land of the Lapa Verde, wild rice and of progress, where people work together in the management of the forests to improve their live-style. It is important because it is the only refuge in Costa Rica for the Lapa Verde and a diverse group of other species in danger of extinction. It also encloses wetlands where wild rice grows a ancestor of what we eat today. Arenal and Tilarán is the land of volcanoes, mountains and lakes. Of its hot intestines comes geothermic energy, which is used as an alternative source. From its forests emerge rivers, that produce the permanent waters that feed into hydroelectric plants and give live to the dry low-lands by irrigation. This land is privileged because of its biodiversity.

Land of Pirates and natural treasures. Only the ones that open their eyes and heart to the natural wonders of the Coco Island will find the treasures the Pirates were talking about. It's the only ocean island of Central America and Southeast Asia that receives enough rain to support the flora and fauna of a wet tropical forest.