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The reserve of Cabo Blanco is located in Puntarenas, south of the Peninsula of Nicoya. It has an area of 1172 hectares in the terrestrial and 1790 hectares at the marina, including the island of Cabo Blanco located 1.6 km from the coast. It was established on October 21, 1963.

Cabo Blanco is the oldest protected forest area of Costa Rica. It is considered a haven for the unique flora and fauna of the dry Pacific and for a large number of marine species. It has a great importance for its scenic beauty by being located within the zone of life of the tropical rain forest.

A feature of this reserve is it there are four management programs:
• The Research Program aims to develop research, as well as establishing and implementing the necessary measures for its control and supervision.
• Maintenance Program, which was established for the improvement and construction of facilities inside the reserve.
• The Agenda for Protection prevents illegal actions inside the reserve as hunting, fishing, fire and any extraction of forest products.
• The Environmental Education Program supports community relations to create a favorable atmosphere between the inhabitants of the area surrounding the reserve. It also ensures the attention of national and foreign tourists who visit the reservation.

If you want to see animals in their environment as the pelicans hunting you have to go the reserve of Cabo Blanco. The dry forests without many leaves are typical of the area. Cabo Blanco is accessible only by roads in poor condition and mostly in a 4×4 vehicles. But it really worth a try: you can see red macaws in their environment, you can enjoy surfing and horseback riding on stunning beaches like those of Santa Teresita and Malpais that are located near the place- are something special for those who enjoy riding the waves. At night you can venture to the nearby beach of Montezuma where you can enjoy a beautiful night with people from around the world. The fauna in the reserve is not very diverse; however, there are species of mammals such as deer, congo monkeys, red faced monkeys, the porcupine, the guatusa, the tepezcuinte, the martilla, the coyote, the armadillo or cusuco and the ocelot among others.

The seabirds are very numerous, particularly brown pelicans, the Frigate bird, reidoras gulls, the terns and the brown boobies. For its part the land birds that are most common are the toledo, the magpie, the cattle egret, the bearded vulture, the red widow, the green cattle and the chachalaca among many others. Within the marine environments you can see large numbers of fish of all kinds, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, clams and many other species.

To reach the reserve, the most convenient route is San Jose-Puntarenas-Paquera (using the ferry)-Coban-Cabuya. There is the bus service Nicoya-Paquera, Paquera-Coban, and Coban-Cabuya, and the taxi service Cabuya-Coban. The nearest population is Cabuya at 2.5 kilometers of the administration, where you can find hotels, restaurants and supermarkets. The dry season is from December to April and the rainy season from May to November. The average temperature is 27 degrees C. The refuge is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and offers services such as administration and information office, parking, lunch areas, health services, showers, drinking water, swimming areas, trails and lookout. The fee for non-resident aliens is $ 10 and ¢ 1600 for nationals and residents.

Guanacaste National Park is located on the east side of the Interamerican road, in front to the national park of Santa Rosa. Created in 1989 for the protection of tropical forests on the slopes of the volcanoes Cocoa (extinct) and Orosi, this project was founded in order to protect the migratory routes of hundreds of animals that migrate toward high ground during dry seasons. It has an area of 700 square kilometers and is located 280 kilometers from San Jose.

The park contains a number of very interesting paths, as well as several study stations, of which at least one is open to the public, photographers and researchers.

The wildlife in the park is very diverse, have been documented around 140 species of mammals, over 300 birds, 100 amphibians and reptiles and more than 10,000 species of insects have been identified. The most common are the monkeys like the Congo, armadillos, mice, mountain lions and black hawks, among others.

Positioned at the foot of the volcano Orosi is the biological station Maritza where you can see relics of the Plio-Quaternary period when the volcano was formed and the accumulations on the plains of piro clastic sediments.

The western section of the mountain is covered with green forests vegetation, which highlights trees that reach 30 meters in height, with predominant species such as Santa Maria and Tempisque.

Located in the beautiful Pacific Ocean, about 20 kilometers off the coast of the Osa Peninsula, Isla del Caño or Caño Island is a spectacular marine biological reserve in Costa Rica. It is part of the province of Puntarenas and north-east of Corcovado National Park, Isla del Caño is considered a very important geographical and archaeological site. Fifteen kilometers from the Port of San Pedrillo, this piece of land of 300 acres was once a cemetery dating back before the Pre-Columbian era.

One of the historical evidence of this island are spherical stones that have been found here, which were carved by hand perfectly round. There are no to much wildlife and fauna on the entire island, just little animals. Either way, Caño Island is used by migratory birds that fly to warmer climates from the northern hemisphere during the winter. Outside the evergreen forests found on the island the only other trees that grow here are the rubber tree, the wild cocoa tree and some bushes. Along with some birds like the eagle, the black hawk, the cattle egret and the falaropo, there are some reptiles and animals such as the bales, boas constrictors, opossums, tree frogs, pigs, moths, beetles, bats, mosquitoes, rats and lizards.

According to investigations, it is believed that this island was formed some 50 million years ago when the Teutonic plates of the earth were moved and produced that the island emerges. The real beauty of the island’s Cano is not on the surface but underwater. The pristine waters of this island are among the bluest of the country and are home to a spectacular variety of marine flora and fauna as well as some glorious coral reefs. Estimated to be one of the best diving points in the world, the Biological Reserve of Cano Island is also home to a large variety of fish, whales and sharks.

With a fantastic visibility under the water, you can see on any day sea turtles, dolphins, devil rays, manta rays, moray eels, barracuda, tuna, snappers, and other fishes that just swam along with a variety of sharks and humpback whales or pilots whales. Because is considered a reserve the number of divers is regulated and visitors are not allowed to remove anything from the marine life either alive or dead. On the island there have been placed in different places areas for camping and also is allowed to organize tourist boat trips with the warning that can only be until Dominical Bay or Drake Bay.

So if you plan to come here do not forget to bring a breathing tube and your scuba gear and prepare for the adventure of your life under water.