| The Western pacific part of Costa Rica is very different from the rest of the country. It is has a much drier climate, resulting in a vegatation that is called tropical dry forest. Unfortunately, little is left of this typeoif vegatation. Palo Verde National Park protects a large stretch of undisturbed tropical dry forest that surrounds the Tempisque river and its flood plains. This creates a park that hosts bird and mammal species typical for dry fiorests as well as rivers and floodplains. This makes it a great pace to watch wildlife. crocodiles, monkeys, deer, spoonbills, Jabiru-storks are all present. We were there at the hight of the hot dry season. no mosquitos, but very hot during the day. Nonetheless it was totally worth it. |
| The beaches of Tortuguero National Park are one of the prime nesting sites in world for seaturtles. In april, when we were there, one might get lucky to see Leatherback turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs. We, however, were not that lucky. We knew that chances were slim, given that only 1 or 2 turtles per night come ashore on a stretch of beach of about 25km. Luckily, there is much more to see and do in this park. It has been aptly named 'little Amazon', since the park covers an area of lowland rainforest with many rivers and streams. The best (and bascially the only) way to see wildlife, which is plentiful, is to take a canoe or motorized boat and explore the meandering river system. Many birds, lizards, caimans and monkeys are readily seen from the river. From the little town named Totuguero, there is a hikingtrail that makes loop through the forest, in case you wnat to try something else then being in a boat. We stayed at Rana Roja lodge outside Tortuguero town itself. We enjoyed it a lot; it has a swimming pool, nice bungalows and a garden full of birds. To get to Tortuguero one either has to catch a plane or take a boat. |
| We spent 3 nights in Montverde, but we easiy could have stayed there a couple of days more. There is something from everyone. Hiking in beautiful nature reserves, going down a zipline for an adrenalinrush or joining a coffeetour for a more cultural outing. On top of that there is a wide range of accomodation and a good selection of restaurants. We stayed at a small hotel, called the rainbow valley lodge with only 2 rooms and great views over Monteverde mountains. We highy recommend it. We came to Monteverde mainly for birdwatching. So we arranged a birdguide to show us around and it was simply amazing. we visited the Monteverde reserve on the first day. The highlight was a nesting pair of Quetzals right at eyelevel. Truly resplendent. The hummingbird garden was great as well, with about 8 species humming around at the same time. On the second day we visited Santuario ecologico which lies a slightly lower altitude and hosts different kinds of birds, such as the longtailed mannikin. Altogether we saw close to 150 species in 2 mornings. Not bad at all... We also visited a coffee and sugarcane plantation. Was very informative to get the whole process from planting to endproduct explained to you. |
| Corcovado National Park is a true jewel of a park. It's remote location makes that it is still a true wilderness where wildlife abounds. The park protects one of the few remaining tracks of pacific lowlands rainforest in all of Central America. Wildlife highlights include 4 species of monkey (all that occur in Costa Rica), 400 bird species, a healthy population of cats, inlcuding the Jaguar and finally the Baird's Tapir. There a couple of research stations in the park that are very basic and either reachable on foot, boat or airplane. We did the former. a 21km hike in and a buatiful but exhausting 19km hike out along the beach. t. During our 2-night stay in Sirena station, we saw many birds, including the scarlet macaws, all 4 monkey species, anteaters and the threatened Baird's Tapir. This was probably the highlight of our visit to Costa Rica. |
| La Selva Research station is one of the most well known research center for tropical rainforests. Luckily they do not only provide accomodation for researchers but also for tourists. The stretch of rainforest is well characterized and has a well maintained network of trails. this makes it a great place to hike around in search of wildlife and intersting plants. Birdwatching is excellent here, with more than 400 species recorded. When you book a room, you automatically get an 3h guided tour. |
© Bart Everts
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| Physical activities: eg Walking / Rafting / swimming Nature: eg National Park / Reserve City / Cultural site |
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| This hotel in the middle of beautiful luch high-elevation cloudforect (2650m altitude) is one of the best places to see Quetzals in Costa Rica. Indeed we have seen a couple of Quetzals as well as a whole bunch of other higher elevation bird species, we hadn't seen elsewhere. Their hummingbird feeder are very cool, which tens of aggressive little hummingbirds. Highly entertianing. The only downside: be prepared for cold nights! |
