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.
Corcovado in Costa Rica is one of the rainiest areas of the country - up to 5500 mm in the hills higher - and its vegetation, one of the richest and most diverse of Costa Rica, has a great affinity with South American flora. The main habitats are the montane forest, which covers more than half of the park and contains the largest variety of species of fauna and flora of the area; the cloud forest, which occupies the highest and is very rich in oak (Quercus insignis ) and (Quercus rapurahuensis) and tree ferns; the forest of high plains, which holds the alluvial part of the park; the swampy forest, which remains flooded during all the year; the yolillal, with a predominance of the palm yolillo (Raphio taedigera ); the herbaceous freshwater swamp or the lagoon of Corcovado with more than 1,000 hectares in area, covered by grass and shrubs and is an exceptional refuge for wildlife; the mangrove, which is found in the estuaries of rivers Llorona, Corcovado and Sirena and finally the shoreline vegetation.
There are about 500 species of trees throughout the park, which represents a quarter of all tree species in Costa Rica. Some, like the endemic and rare gambit (Anacardium excelsum), reach and surpass the 50 meters in height, in the mountains there are two species of wild cocoa (Theobroma angustifolium) and (Theobroma simiarum).
The fauna of Corcovado is so varied and rich as its flora, is known the existence of 140 species of mammals, 367 bird, 117 reptile and 40 freshwater fish, and it is estimated that there are about 6,000 species of insects. The park protects the largest population of red macaws (Ara macao) in the country. Some of the endangered species that are here are the tapir (Tapirus bairdii), the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) and five of the six species of wild cats that are found in Costa Rica: the puma (Puma concolor), the manigordo (leopards pardalis), the lion Brenner (Herpailurus yaguarondi), the Caucel (wiedii leopards) and jaguar (Pnthera onca).
In the long beach Llorona spawn with relative abundance four species of sea turtles. In the marine area, in front of Corcovado, it is usual to observe dolphins, bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) and three species of whales, including the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Given their extraordinary biological diversity, Corcovado is now as a major international center for research on tropical rain forest; in Sirena there is a biological station which has facilities to conduct investigations. This park and the rest of the peninsula became an important center for the investigation of pre-Columbian civilizations, there have been found archaeological sites on the banks of virtually all the trails in the park.
Corcovado is located at the southwest of Costa Rica in the Osa Peninsula. The administration is located in Puerto Jimenez. Sierra that is near Corcovado has a landing area and several trails are initiated there, the most important ones are Rio Claro, San Pedrillo (on the beach and the forest), Ollas, Rio Sirena, Rio Los Espaveles and Rio Pavos. There are camping and lunch areas in Sierra, La Leona, Los Patos and San Pedrillo, with tables, toilets and drinking water.
The access to the area of Sirena in southern Costa Rica can be achieved by plane from San Jose or can be reached by land from Puerto Jimenez - La Leona (44 km). There is a collective service Puerto Jimenez - La Leona. In Puerto Jimenez there are hotels, guesthouses, restaurants and markets, and in the vicinity of the park, nature reserves have been established with private cabins and biological stations. As a Costa Rica national park Corcovado do not have many accommodations for the tourist but in the nearby town is easy to find hotels and little cabins.
Driving northwest on the route 34 there is a cliff with a breathtaking view, Punta Guapinol. From here you can see a beach 10 miles long, Hermos Beach and its surf waves. Located only ten minutes by car from the beach and the town of Jaco and at a short journey from the capital San Jose, Hermos Beach offers to the surfers one of the most consistent breaks in the world. However it is important to mention that in Hermos Beach currents are very strong and are not ideal for swimming.
This beach is well known for its surf, for all the surfers in the world. At least one time during the national championship takes place at Hermosa surf. In addition several international events such as surf “Vans Airshow” takes place in this beach where it ends. Surfers that have been recognized worldwide surfing here regularly: Christian Slater, Bob Hurley, Thomas Lange and many others. The Costa Rican surfers Gilberth Brown, Luis Vindas, Lisbeth Vindas, Jairo Perez, Jason Torres, Carlos Muñoz, Federico Pilurzu, Juan Carlos Naranjo and Diego Naranjo are part of surfers in Hermosa.
Costa Rica Central Pacific Coast - Hermosa beach.
Hermosa offers the entire infrastructure for a perfect surf trip: Surf shops, surf schools, hotels on the beach and perfect waves. The best time to practice surfing in Hermosa Beach is from April to November when the tide is high and growing. One of the best breaks on the beach is located in front of a large tree known as El Almendro or Arbol Almendro. The long beach that runs from north to south is divided into five surf places: Terrazas, Backyards, El Almendro, La Curva and Tulin. Terrazas, located opposite of a hotel of the same name is not an easy place to surf, for that reason is not for begginers. Backyards is a good place to catch a “tube” to surf when the tide is in the middle.
El Almendro breaks in front of a large almond tree, but the waves break out at sea and are higher than in Backyard. Scarlet macaws can be seen in this tree, eating almonds. La Curva is located half a kilometer to the south; its bottom is sandy and not very deep. A mile farther south you can arrive to Tulin, this surf place is better during the dry season. The sea turtles use this beach to nest.
Because in Hermos Beach are accommodations are rather scarce, most of the surfers tend to stay in Jaco which has acknowledged several bars, hotels, resorts and rooms for rent. Usually people prefer the black sand beach of Hermosa instead the beach of Jaco because this is usually unoccupied during the week.
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.
The city of Cartago, the ancient capital of Costa Rica and host of the first permanent international court of world history, the Court of Carthage, is located in the central region of Costa Rica. Geographically it is located at an altitude of 1435 meters above sea level, on the slopes of the Irazu volcano, 24 kilometers east of the capital, San Jose.
Gives its name to the province of Cartago, where is located, and his header region Cartago. The city center measured 4,13 square kilometers and is divided into the western districts, where located important shopping mall, banks, including the National Bank, Scotiabank, Bank of Costa Rica, the headquarters of the Agricultural Credit Bank Carthage or Bancrédito, BAC San Jose, BCT and the central offices of MUCAP. There is also located the beautiful Cathedral of Nuestra Señora del Carmen, the headquarters of the diocese of Carthage, whose patronage is offered to Santiago Apostle In the east districts are located most of the shops, the city council, the Ruins of Santiago Apostle, the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Angeles and the Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica, the second largest university in Costa Rica. The metropolitan area of the city has 295,560 inhabitants, which is composed of the regions of Cartago, Oreamuno, El Guarco and Paraiso.
Cartago Province of Costa Rica
The climate of Cartago is tropical but cold at the same time, and is modified by the height and the presence of the mountains. The climate of the city is very fresh and very different from the other cities in the greater metropolitan area. In general is known that Cartago has a cold weather in the city and sometimes is cloudy, for that reason Cartago is also known as the “City of Mist.”
In the city of Carthage is located the main religious center of Costa Rica, La Basilica de Los Angeles that is a beautiful Catholic church that lies at the place where, according to tradition, a mulatto of a village called Puebla de los Pardos found in 1635 a image of Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles, which will soon attributed numerous miracles. In the site was built a chapel, which was replaced later by a temple with higher solidity, strength and capacity, this temple was built in 1675. It was converted in the basilica during the episcopate of Bishop Anselmo Llorente y Lafuente.
The earthquake on May 4, 1910 almost destroyed the temple, which was replaced a few years later by another of considerable size, of Byzantine style. The temple Began to build in 1912. The architect in charge of design it was called Luis Llach Llagostera. Actually the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles is the main center of religious pilgrimage in Costa Rica, especially on the occasion of the feast day of Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles, which falls on Aug. 2.
Thousands of people come every year to the religious center in what is called a “romeria” in appreciation or request for favors. On that date, and in keeping with a tradition that dates from the late of eighteenth century, the image is transferred to the Cathedral of Cartage, located in the city center, where it remains until the beginning of the month of September, when the image is returned to the basilica, with a procession popularly known as the Pasada de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles.