Flora and Fauna

In no other country in the world will you find such a variety of living area within 51 100 square kilometers. The reason is the unique geography of Costa Rica. This allows a fantastic variety of animals and plants, as in no other land on earth. This makes Costa Rica one of the most popular travel destinations for nature lovers.
The pacific coast has many peninsulas, golfs and small inlets. In between you will discover typical white or black beaches with palm trees and rock formations. The tidal differences are radical here, so the region is not only paradise for many water birds, but also for surfers. Towards the center of the country, you will find wide open areas in the north and tropical rainforest in the south. The Caribbean coast is rather boring in comparison: the lower areas consist of lagunes and forest, and because the tides are not as strong here, there is a lot of swamp that leads to the beach. These two areas are divided by rangers of active volcanos. The highest mountain is the Cerro Chirripó, it is 3'820 meters above sea level.
As well as the animals that can be typically found in the tropics, such as Poison Arrow frogs or the Capuchin monkey, the country also has a lot of birds that migrate regularly from countries in the distance (approx. 200 sorts every year arrive from Alaska or Australia). Up to this point in time, approx. 850 different types of birds have been sighted. Many of the 260 species of animals can be seen regularly by tourists, (monkeys, and different varieties of small bears), whilst others are only sighted occassionally (such as the jaguar or the tapir).
If you would like to see these animals in their natural habitat, then visit a national park.
The range of flora to be seen in Costa Rica is also incredible: you can see over 1'300 different sorts of orchids or over 2'000 different sorts of trees. On the way to the different regions you will be amazed: today you can glide through the water in a Mangrove forest on a canoe, and tomorrow be walking through cold fog in a forest in the mountains, such as in the National park of Monteverde. In the north you will be impressed with the dry forests.