San Jose
San Jose has the infamous reputation as the ugly duckling of Central America.
It is a hectic city of over 1.5 million, swamped with traffic, crowds, and noise. Very few of the architectural draws belonging
to other capitals along the isthmus exist in San Jose. Behind the drab exterior, however, the city is the best place to meet
the people of Costa Rica. They are famous for their generosity and good humor. The city has some particularly good museums,
most notably the Jade Museum.
San Ramon Municipality
An infrequently touristed but diverse and beautiful section of Costa Rica, including
cloud forest and other pristine nature areas. San Ramon is the largest municipality in Alajuela Province, an easy drive from
San Jose. See our San Ramon page for more information.
Braulio Carrillio National Park
One of Costa Rica's superior parks, Braulio Carrillio's 46,000 acres of rainforest
are surrounded by a dramatic stretch of mountain highway connecting San Jose and the coastal city of Limon. Over 6,000 species
of trees cling to the park's misty volcanic slopes, providing a lush habitat to more than 500 types of birds and 135 kinds
of mammals. Here, you can find the treasured quetzal, a bird of mythic and unsurpassed beauty. As you hike beneath the forest
canopy, hundreds of species of butterflies waft past like colorful pixies. Howler monkeys sing out eerily and swing in the
net of branches above. The ground vegetation hides pumas, ocelots, tapirs, raccoons, and countless other mammals which are
often heard but seldom seen.
One of the park's best features is the Teleferico del Bosque Lluvioso, or
rainforest tram. The tram takes visitors on a 90-minute tour through the hidden world of the forest canopy, where two-thirds
of all flora and fauna live. It is the only vehicle of its kind in the world and the only way to view the canopy outside of
scaling a tree. The tram was constructed with the assistance of the Nicaraguan government, which provided the Russian helicopters
that carried in the towers supporting the 1.5 km of cable.
Poas National Park
There are only a few places in the world where you can drive up to the edge
of an active volcanic crater, and Poas National Park is one of them. There are in fact two craters visible from the summit
of the volcano, the largest some 1.5 km wide. Poas is a scene from Dante's Inferno. Hellish exhalations of sulfuric gasses
puff from vents a mere 300 meters below the observation platform, and a small lake pours off enraged steam. Surrounding the
smaller cone is a dense forested area that is one of the few remaining habitats of the brilliant scarlet macaw. The eruption
cycle of the Poas volvano is about forty years, and the last eruption was in 1978. During heightened volcanic activity the
park may be closed. Poas is located about 30 miles to northeast of San Jose.
Corcovado National Park
Jungle-hungry adventurers will be pleased with this park. It is one of the
largest, most remote, biologically dense, and challenging parks in the country. Its 54,500 hectares are located in the far
south on the Osa Peninsula, and there is a great variety of habitat. On the west coast of the peninsula are miles of beaches,
while its interior is a dense network of rivers, rain forests, and swamp land. The animal life here is known for its size.
Jaguars roam in the shadows of the cloud forest, crocodiles ply the swamp, and hammerhead sharks have been known to cruise
the estuaries.
Tortuguero National Park
No place is more vital to the survival of the Caribbean's green sea turtle
than Tortuguero National Park. Located on the northern Caribbean coast, the park is home to nearly 30,000 of these marvelous
animals---the largest breeding population in the world. Throughout the first half of this century, the turtles were hunted
to near extinction for their value as a food source.
Visitors to Tortuguero have the rare privilege of watching the turtles dig
their nests on the beach, an impressive and fascinating sight. The height of the nesting season comes in May and June, but
at any given time there are usually a few nesting. The park also has extensive waterways leading inland, where more parklands
harbor a variety of other animals, including sloths, crocodiles, toucans, monkeys and morpho butterflies.
Talamanca National Park
This tropical forest in the Talamanca mountains is almost perfectly intact.
In 1982, UNESCO declared it a biosphere reserve, and then a world patrimony site a year later. Its climate zones, each harboring
distinct flora and fauna, begin at 100 meters and rise to a towering 35,490 meters. It covers an area of 193,929 hectares,
some of which rests on the other side of the Panamanian border.
The Reventazon
White water rafting and kayaking is becoming increasingly popular in Costa
Rica. The bountiful rivers and their rapids provide more than just exciting recreation; they are a magnificent way to see
the country. Many of them snake through the mountains and rainforests, and water travelers get to participate in the environment
they witness. No river offers a more prized experience than the Reventazon, which stretches along the Nicaraguan border then
down the Colorado delta system to the Caribbean coast. Rafting trips can be arranged in San Jose
