Costa Rica as a tourist destination is a pioneer in ecotourism and gives the opportunity to see the exploitation and development of our natural resources sustainably.
Conserve and protect our rich biodiversity is leading a task imposed more than three decades, thereby protecting everything worth to see in Costa Rica. And our challenge for the XXI century, after the tourist boom of the decade of the 90. So, Costa Rica is one of the best places where to get an ecotourism experience, so we present you with some of the activities to do in Costa Rica without a specific order.
A HAPPY PLANET.
In some of the latest years, Costa Rica has been ranked as the happiest country in the world!
BIODIVERSITY:
It has 58 different microclimates and holds 5% of the biodiversity on the planet with just 50,000 km. Not a strange thing, being Costa Rica a bridge linking two continents. Mammals include jaguars, sloths, monkeys, armadillos, coatis. There are around two hundred species of amphibians, more than 800 birds species, tropical fish, rays, sharks, and even humpback whales live in the waters; are more than 2000 species of trees growing in the soil; 10% of butterflies in the world are here!
SOUTH CARIBBEAN.
The Caribbean coastline holds the largest barrier reef in the country in Cahuita National Park, a must for diving enthusiasts. His Afro-Caribbean population and indigenous communities constitute a differential value for the rest of the country.
THE PACIFIC AND THE CARIBBEAN.
Its small dimensions (a space ten times less than that of the Iberian Peninsula) facilitate cross it in its entirety. Caribbean breakfast and dinner in the Pacific are entirely possible.
PROTECTED NATURE.
It is not an easy task to choose things to see in Costa Rica among its 17 national parks and biological reserves. It is the country with the highest percentage of the territory embraced different categories of protection and management of natural spaces: 25% of its total area.
The best known are:
- Biological Reserve Monteverde: cloud forest and a real living laboratory of great scientific value.
- Tortuguero National Park: an amphibious world of canals, streams, rivers, and lakes that seethe with life.
- Poas Volcano National Park: the natural wonder of Costa Rica.
- Corcovado National Park and Caño Island Biological Reserve: the most intense place, biologically, on the planet.
- Manuel Antonio National Park: Impressive beach and national park, both terrestrial and marine center of the Pacific coast.
BEAUTIFUL BEACHES AND SURF.
Not everything is green and jungle. There are beaches to see in Costa Rica, Costa Rican is highly recommended in the Pacific. The Nicoya Peninsula in the province of Guanacaste is the one with greater hotel infrastructure. Besides having white sand beaches and coral reefs, this coast is a favorite destination for surfers.
RAFTING, TREKKING, AND CANOPY.
Heaven for hikers, like most national parks and protected areas, are visited on foot.
The mountainous geography of Costa Rica has plenty of rapids, jumps, and waterfalls of crystalline rivers and faunal richness. The Pacuare River is considered one of the best in the world for this practice and a must among things to see in Costa Rica.
The country also offers a great variety of perfect places to launch a zip line through a system suspended between wooden platforms arranged on the canopy of the rainforest cables. Adrenaline and unique perspective are assured. Those who are not looking for that much of adventure travel will find cableways to comfortably walk the treetops.
A FEAST FOR BIRDWATCHERS AND BOTANY.
It is a top destination for devotees of ornithology. Among the more than 800 species of birds to see in Costa Rica include hummingbirds, macaws, toucans and striking the elusive quetzal. Welcomes thousand species of orchids, one of the most delicate and beautiful flowers in the world, especially abundant in the Reserve Monteverde Cloud Forest, the habitat of nearly half the bird species in the country.
WORLDS DEMOCRACY MODEL.
Costa Rica abolished its army half of the twentieth century, and today there are more teachers than policemen among the professions in the country. It is a model of democracy in Central America and continues to record strong economic and social development. The literacy rate is around 98%, and education is obligatory and free. The high life expectancy and low infant mortality rate are unusual in the area.
ACTIVE VOLCANOES.
Settled in the Ring of Fire, Costa Rica hosts more than 100 volcanoes, 10 of them still active. Next to the Poas, Irazu, the Rincon de la Vieja, and Turrialba, Arenal Volcano is another essential among things to see in Costa Rica, one of the most active and the most visited.
CRAFTS OF COSTA RICA.
The Costa Rican cultural heritage, the true identity of the country, manifested in the design and manufacture with local elements of all kinds of objects, both functional and decorative.
LOTS OF ADVENTURE.
Costa Rica is the host of some of the greatest adventure tours, it has everything, from rafting to hiking. Canopy is everywhere, as well as biking, canyoning, kayaking, and surfing.
