Cocos Island

Cocos Island Costa Rica

Cocos Island National Park Located in the Pacific Ocean, 532 miles from Cabo Blanco, Costa Rica, to the east, between the parallels of latitude N 5 30 “and 5” and the meridians 34 0687 1 “87 6”.
It was created by Executive Order No. 8748-A, June 22, 1978. It covers an area of 2,400 hectares in the terrestrial and 97,235 in the navy.

The island is considered a natural laboratory for studying the evolution of species.
Cocos Island It is extremely wet, about 7,000 mm per year, and is covered with evergreen forest, which has provided the cloud at Cerro Iglesias, 634 m

The topography is very broken, leading to the formation of many waterfalls, some of which fall expectacularmente the sea from a great height.

The coast is very sinuous, has cliffs up to 183 meters high and many underwater caves. The sea is turquoise blue of extraordinary transparency.

The island was discovered in 1526 by the pilot Joan Cabezas in 1556 and is already included in the planisphere of Nicolás Desliens as Cocos Island.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was a haven for pirates and privateers who flourished along the Pacific coasts of Spanish America.

According to legend, hid priceless treasures here as Lima, consisting of tons of gold and silver bullion, gold leaf covering the domes of the churches, the treasure was hidden William Davies in 1684 and that of Benito “Bloody Sword “Nice in 1819.

An evergreen, thick and dense, covering the territory of the wild island of 2,400 hectares, high-frequency cloud and lashed by torrential rains and rains.

Here we have identified 235 plant species (70 endemic), 362 insects (64 endemic) and 2 endemic reptiles: the lizard and the salamander, 3 spiders, 85 of seabirds including (4 endemic), 57 crustaceans, 118 mollusks sea, over 200 fish and corals 18. Its waters abound white tip sharks, hammerhead sharks, giant tuna, parrot fish, blankets and horse mackerel.

Among the most distinctive species of trees on the island are the copey, ironwood and palm endemic.

Among the endemic birds include: the Cocos Island flycatcher, the Cocos Island cuckoo, finch and Cocos Island. Common in the forest is the holy spirit bird, white visiting the island to nest and is distinguished by hovering over the heads of visitors.

Cocos Island is a land of natural beauty and a real laboratory for the study of nature.

Ferns, bromeliads, rivers, streams and waterfalls, valleys, cliffs and islands frequented by countless seabirds and nesting place for seagulls and birds fools.

The park has several programs. Protection Program ensures compliance with the laws of conservation of natural resources, maintaining a proper balance of the ecosystems of the island in the terrestrial and marine limits.

Another function is to ensure the safety of domestic and foreign visitors who come to the island.

Management Programme aims to achieve the planning of the whole work of the park in the short to medium term.

Research and Monitoring Program aims to lay the groundwork for the development of scientific research in the area and promote according to the priorities of the park.

Finally, the Public Use Program, which aims to raise awareness among groups engaged in fishing in the area boundaries, the importance of preserving populations of marine organisms most threatened commercial use.

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Wildlife Refuge Barra del Colorado and Tortuguero

Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park is located on the Caribbean coast of the province of Limon, about 80 kilometers northeast of the town of that name. It was established by Law No. 5680 of November 17, 1975. It has an area of ​​18.946.9 hectares in the terrestrial and 52,265 in the navy.

It is the most important area of ​​the entire western half of the Caribbean for the nesting of green turtles. Other species of sea turtles that nest on the beach are the leatherback and hawksbill.

The park is crossed by a natural lagoon sitema and waterways of great scenic beauty and habitat of the species of turtles, manatees or sea cows, crocodiles, a variety of crustaceans and some 52 species of fish in fish fresh water, including the GAR.

It was created to protect the flora and fauna of this region and to facilitate research, scientific studies and provide environmental education.

There are three life zones: tropical rain forest, premontane wet forest transition to basal and jungle. Includes eight types of associations (trees, shrubs and herbs) and three smaller associations (mostly grasses).
Coastal vegetation dominated by grasses, with abundant layers of the rainforest and vertical, dense and varied characterized by ferns, palms and various species of Annonaceae, white woods on the hills, yolillales, mainly from the palm of raffia and located in the central sector of the park, herbaceous swamps formed by herbaceous plants of haste 2 meters tall and herbaceous communities on lakes with floating vegetation as choreja or water lily, are among the most important plant associations of the park.

Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park is one of the rainiest areas of the country, between 5,000 and 6,000 mm per year. We can distinguish two types of rain: local downpours of short duration are the most frequent, and the time characteristic of the Caribbean that extend up to 15 days. The latter are caused by winds from the north and northwest.

The most characteristic species of flora are: cedar male sparrowhawk, pylon, javillo black, golden fruit, the Manu, the boiler, camphor, canfín, the education system, the raffia palm, palm suites, palm choreja real or water lily. Choreja sometimes forms masses so compact that may impede navigation.

The fauna in Tortugero National Park is rich and diverse. Among the highlights are the tapir, the jaguar, ocelot, wild boar, the howler monkey, the monkey-faced, red or spider monkeys, sloths, tepescuinte, coati, raccoon, hammers, otters, tolomuco , the fishing bat is one of the largest in the country and feeds on fish catch with his strong legs and claws when hovering over the water surface, raising reticulated glass frog whose internal organs are visible through its transparent skin, poisonous frog or toad red, whose skin is toxic.

Some of the protected birds are macaws, endangered species, the peacock, the turkey vulture, hawk, purple trogon and the oriole of montezuma. In addition, the leatherback, hawksbill and green turtle, the turtle turtle black, is very common in the canals from Moin to Torguguero.

The Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge

The Wildlife Refuge Cano Negro has an area of 9,940 hectares. It is located in the cantons of Los Chiles and Guatuso of the Province of Alajuela.

Keep a sample of the most important wetlands in our territory, considered internationally important refuge for serving large numbers of migratory species, species extinciópn v’as imporancia and commercial species.

Cano Negro Lagoon is a freshwater lake shallow, with an area of 800 hectares and a stagnant water desagëe adjacent Frio River and its tributary the river Mónica.

The area comprising the lake and surrounding areas constitutye one of the most biologically diverse vital to the maintenance of environmental quality in the north.

Additionally, the area is a habitat with a variety of species of flora and fauna and natural communities, unique or endangered species many of them that make the area a site of international importance, as they are, along with the wetlands south of Lake Nicaragua, one of the highlights smuestras wetland of Mesoamerica.

Cano Negro Wildlife Refuge

This is a source of refuge for migratory birds north alimenteo. Some species of plants and animals found in other parts of the country, the abundance of birds and fish for human consumption and is one of the few places where the needle or gar.

Guanacaste National Park

Located in the province of Guanacaste, the note of the Pacific, 36 miles north of the city of Liberia, this park was created on June 5, 1991 by Executive Decree 20516-MIRENEM. It has an area of 32,512 hectares.

It contains a great ecological diversity distributed in forests: noboso tropical wet, tropical wet and dry forest.

The upper parts of the park are represented by the massifs of Orosi and Cacao volcanoes. Also worth mentioning that among the hill and Volcán Cacao Orosilito, born Tempisque River, then along with other rivers like the Colorado River form the Drowned and Tempisque, Guanacaste main collector.

For its size, diversity and location, both in the Atlantic and Pacific, the park has a great diversity in its evergreen rain forest. The forest on the tops of the volcanoes Orosi and Cacao is the primary support of epiphytes such as bromeliads and orchids, there are ferns, aroids and mosses.

In the Guanacaste National  Park there are about 3,000 species of plants. The dominant species are the boiler, the Tempisque, the cork oak, chokecherry, tapir pumpkin and golden fruit.

It highlights the diversity of birds, there are about 300, including the boiler, the goldfinch, oriole of montezuma, the toucan, the king of the vultures, or owls oropopo glasses, bellbird, the umbrella bird, the magpie and cargahuesos , among others. Some of the mammals are the most representative tepezcuinte, deer, jaguar, white face, puma, dantea, coati, peccary, armadillo, tolomuco and two-toed sloth.

Estimates of the number of species of butterflies and moths, there are about 5,000 species.

Guanacaste Santa Rosa National Park

Guanacaste Santa Rosa National Park  Crested Guan, Penelope purpurascens

Santa Rosa National Park, located in the province of Guanacaste, North Pacific, just 36 miles north of the city of Liberia.

It was created by Executive Order No. 1562-A, March 20, 1972. It has an area of ​​37,117 hectares and 78,000 hectares of sea.

One of the most historically important areas of the country, the house and the stone corrals were the scene of the most heroic national: The Battle of Santa Rosa on March 20, 1856.

The park is important for the protection of habitats and climate restaruración region known as the Dry Pacific. Nancite and Naranjo beaches are very picturesque and beleza important areas for sea turtles and olive ridley and leatherback.

There are ten in Santa Rosa habitats, including deciduous forests, oak forests, pine forests, mangroves, coastal forests, scrub forests, beach vegetation and grassland or savanna.

The leaves are composed mainly of Jaragua grass and scattered trees such as oak oak, nance, the stick or the cornizuelo chumico raspaguacal and pumpkin. The deciduous forests contain about 240 species of trees and shrubs: the guanaco, national tree, the naked Indian, oak savanna, chaperno, jobo, the kapok tree, strawberry tree and gu unleavened.

In the evergreen forest the dominant species with the medlar, the oak, Tempisque and the Aceituno. Wildlife is abundant and diverse. It has been observed espefcies 155 of mammals, more than half are bats, 253 birds, 100 amphibians and reptiles, and more than 10,000 insects, including some 3.140 species of butterflies and moths.

Among the mammals are the howler monkey again, the white-faced monkey, armadillo, sell dantea, coati, chestnut, Puna, jaguars and raccoons. The mouse semispinalis is the most abundant mammal of all.

Some of the more striking birds are magpies, parakeets frentianaranjada, the red widow, the wren Matraquero cargahuesos, the peacock, the crab hawk and long-tailed Manakin.

See National Parks and Protected Areas