National Parks & Reserves

A popular day trip to see volcanoes and tropical forest from Guanacaste is Rincon de la Vieja National Park. The most visited entrance of this park by far is Las …

At the end of the road, south of Puerto Viejo on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, you’ll find the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Mixed Wildlife Refuge. This protected land is the ideal place …

Many years ago, we paddled through Tortuguero National Park’s waterway canals in a tipsy canoe. Gliding through the wetlands, we snuck up on birds, river turtles, and caimans. On our …

Last Updated: May 9, 2024 Monteverde has several nature reserves where you can hike through lush cloud forest. There’s the popular Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, the Curi Cancha Reserve, and …

If you are visiting Tortuguero in the northeastern corner of Costa Rica, you will notice that the landscape is very flat and wet. Tortuguero, after all, is in the middle …

If you’re headed to the Lake Arenal area and want to do an off-the-beaten path hike, El Jilguero Ecotourism Project may be the perfect fit. This little-known ecotourism project is …

Costa Rica’s protected forests are the heart of its environmental splendor. But the country’s network of national parks don’t do it alone. Dozens of private reserves combine to safeguard an …

Costa Rica holds about 25% of its land in protected areas. There are 32 national parks and many more private reserves. These vast stretches of jungle, mountain, mangrove, and other …

Last Updated: August 18, 2022 Poas Volcano is one of Costa Rica’s most iconic volcanoes. At almost a mile (1.5 kilometers) wide and 900 feet (300 meters) deep, this crater …

Sitting casually along the roadside on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula is the Curu National Wildlife Refuge. Marked by a few simple signs, most travelers race past this reserve on their …

Last Updated: April 29, 2024 When hiking Arenal Volcano, you have a lot of different trail options. All go around the base of the impressive volcano, giving you different vantage …

Last Updated: June 5, 2024 If you are visiting La Fortuna to explore the jungle and see wildlife, hiking is a great way to do it. But you don’t necessarily …

Costa Rica is known for its many volcanoes, which come in all shapes and sizes. Some, like the famed Arenal Volcano, are cone-shaped and best explored by hiking around the …

Last Updated: April 18, 2023 Each of Costa Rica’s national parks has something different to offer. And while some feature wildlife up close or show you the power of a …

Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve (Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco), located just south of Montezuma, is a special place. It was Costa Rica’s first nature reserve, created back in 1963. In …

Last Updated: February 9, 2024 Costa Rica is known for its impressive diversity of wildlife. To see species like sloths and monkeys, you can book excursions into the country’s most …

Last Updated: May 28, 2024 Costa Rica has an amazing diversity of wildlife, though sometimes it can be hard to find. This is especially true in the Guanacaste region. Many …

Last Updated: May 8, 2024 Monteverde has several reserves to take in the area’s abundant nature, but probably the most popular is the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve (Reserva Biologica Bosque …

As people who love hiking, we are always on the lookout for the next great trek. When considering the possibilities in Guanacaste, the Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve piqued our interest. …

Last Updated: May 2, 2024 Even though Monteverde is a remote destination, hundreds of thousands of tourists still visit each year. In fact, during the height of the dry season, …

Last Updated: October 25, 2024 Drive north from the busy beach towns of Guanacaste and you will find a quiet countryside of fields and shrubby forest. Within this lazy landscape …

Last Updated: August 8, 2024 The town of Samara in Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region is probably best known for being a chilled-out beach destination. But in the hills above the …

  One of the things that makes Costa Rica unique is the amount of protected land it holds. Beginning in the 1960s, Costa Rica started putting parcels of land aside …

On our most recent trip to Puerto Jimenez on Costa Rica’s remote Osa Peninsula, we found ourselves with very few options for day trips, especially hiking. The Herrera Botanical Gardens …

Last Updated: October 15, 2021 Nature works in mysterious ways. And one really interesting oddity of nature is the so called whale tail that juts into the Pacific Ocean on …

Last Updated: March 13, 2023 Early one morning in July 1968, an unassuming green mountain in northern Costa Rica suddenly awoke and became the legendary Arenal Volcano. If you are …

Last Updated: May 5, 2023 One of the things that Costa Rica is best known for is its spectacular wildlife. Just about everywhere around the country you can see a …

Costa Rica has nearly 30 national parks, but if you’re a wildlife enthusiast, there’s one that stands out against all the rest. Tortuguero National Park, located in the northeastern-most part …

Last Updated: June 8, 2024 Only a short drive from one of Costa Rica’s most popular and developed beach towns is an oasis of nature. Carara National Park, just north …

Last Updated: December 17, 2020 Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province in the northwestern part of the country is a popular spot for surfers and beachgoers alike. But many visitors to this …

Just a short drive from the hustle and bustle of San Jose is a vast expanse of pristine primary and secondary rainforest teeming with wildlife. Braulio Carrillo National Park is …

Most people who visit La Fortuna, Costa Rica go to see Arenal Volcano, the famed cone-shaped giant that put this sleepy agricultural town on the map. But there’s another intriguing …

Set on the jungle-rich slopes of the Turrialba Volcano is one of Costa Rica’s most important archaeological sites, the Guayabo National Monument. Thought to have been first inhabited more than …

Even before moving to Costa Rica, we had wanted to visit Poas volcano. Considered to be the largest active crater in the world at almost a mile (1.5 kilometers) wide …

Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region no doubt hosts some great beach destinations. But for those looking to do some hiking, the terrain, which consists of rolling farm fields and patchwork forests, …

Last Updated: October 11, 2024 While Monteverde gets most of the attention as Costa Rica’s cloud forest destination, there is another less visited option. Los Quetzales National Park (Parque Nacional …

Last Updated: August 13, 2024 If you’re visiting Costa Rica’s central Pacific coast and looking for an off-the-beaten path hike, be sure to visit Hacienda Baru. Within easy reach from …

Last Updated: May 5, 2023 Known as the largest lowland rainforest remaining on Central America’s Pacific coast, Corcovado National Park is a must-see for the nature enthusiast. The untouched wilderness …

Last Updated: July 5, 2024 Looming over the town of La Fortuna, Arenal Volcano is one of Costa Rica’s five active volcanoes. Originally thought to be dormant, this volcano unexpectedly …

Last Updated: November 21, 2024 If you’re looking for picturesque beaches, wild jungle, and up-close encounters with wildlife, Manuel Antonio National Park is for you. Our first visit to Manuel …