A Paradise For Eco Tourism In Costa Rica

se who would like a destination for eco-tourism, Costasighted, there is a wide number of other exotic wildlife
Rica is hard to beat. For a little country in Centralincluding monkeys, sloths, jaguars, bats and reptiles that
America that's only 19,730 square miles, there'scan be seen during one of the many available nature
definitely a lot to see and do there. Costa Rica meanstours. Every year, there are sea turtles that come to
'rich coast' in Spanish, which is the country's officialcertain beaches to nest and this event attracts many
language. Located between Nicaragua to the northnature lovers. The wildlife in Costa Rica is not only rich
and Panama to the south, Costa Rica is one of theon land or the air but also in the surrounding oceans.
most stable and prosperous of all Latin AmericanFor scuba divers, Costa Rica offers excellent diving
countries. There are tropical beach resorts on both theopportunities and they are quite different from the
Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the country for sunwaters in the Caribbean. The higher amounts of
vacationers but the main attraction of Costa Rica isplankton in the local seas attract more numbers of
the eco-tourism. For example, there is a wider varietylarge marine animals than can be found in the
of bird species in Costa Rica alone than in all ofCaribbean.
Europe and North America.Coffee and bananas are some of the main exports
Surprisingly, there are diverse eco-systems andfor Costa Rica. For coffee lovers, this is the place to
microclimates within Costa Rica. In addition to thesample some of the best in the world although it
coastal beaches, there are dense jungles and rainshould be warned that the locals like their coffee quite
forests with a wide variety of fauna. Some of thesestrong. Tours in the valleys will often go past numerous
forests are referred to as cloud forests because ofcoffee plantations.
the moisture of the mists that linger among the trees inMost tourists will fly into the capital city of San Jose.
some parts. One forest has a cable car set up so thatAlthough there is some nice colonial architecture to
tourists can observe the plant and animal life at thesee in San Jose, it's not one of the nicer places to stay
treetop levels. For the more adventurous types, therein Costa Rica. The city is noisy and polluted but
is a place where one can swing from tree to treerelatively safe. One can use San Jose as a base for
using a network of rope attachments. There are alsomany day trips to the various rain forests, volcanoes
dry forests as well as colder barren volcanic tundras.and beaches. Travelers can also fly into Liberia which
Quite extreme changes in microclimate can beis a town in the north part of the country. This is a
observed even within 30 minutes of travel. Some partsmuch quieter region and close to many of the northern
of the country have canal systems similar to thoseresorts. One option that many travelers take is to rent
found in the Amazon and a few rivers offer excellenta vehicle and tour the country on their own. However,
white water rafting.the roads of Costa Rica are not the best with lots of
There are several volcanoes within the country andpotholes and mudslides are common during the wet
the extinct ones are easily accessible since they areseason from June to November. If renting a vehicle, a
tourist attractions. A few have beautiful turquoise color4x4 is definitely recommended.
lakes that have formed in the craters at the top ofThere is so much to see and do in Costa Rica that
such volcanoes. One of the more famous activemany visitors return to see parts of the country that
volcanoes is Arenal where visitors can safely watchthey missed before. The country is easily the most
the eruptions from a nearby facility that has outdoorpopular destination to visit in Central America. Costa
hot springs naturally heated by the mountain.Rica now has tourist offices set up in North America
In addition to the many different birds that can befor those who want further information.