Some of the most enjoyable destinations in Costa Rica are those which are not as well known or as well visited as the typical holiday spot. When you want to take a step away from the ordinary and explore the world beyond your luxury Costa Rica resort, be sure to put these places on your list.

San Gerardo de Dota
This hidden gem of Costa Rica is a birdwatchers paradise, boasting a constant buzz of hummingbirds and woodpeckers as well as the beautiful songs of tanagers and quetzals. There is also lucrative trout fishing on the nearby Savegre River for the angler who wants a bit of a tropical fishing challenge. ATV tours through the area are available and coffee plantation tours provide an interesting day trip option.

Cahuita
If you want to experience some authentic Creole culture while in Costa Rica, this is the place to visit. With a population of only 4000 it is a sure-fire way to immerse yourself in the everyday happenings. Snorkeling and scuba diving are favorite activities along the two beautiful and secluded beaches. The area is most renowned for the unusual cuisine that is offered up by local establishments. Zesty is the term most often used to describe the local dishes that are infused with the Afro-Caribbean flavors of the town. Access to the Cahuita national Park is another attraction of the area.

Peace Waterfall gardens
A stop here is a certain delight for all the senses. Located near the town of Vara Blanca, the series of waterfalls are the most spectacular in the country. A large butterfly observatory is located on the grounds as well and houses over 24 different species of hummingbirds that dwell among the butterflies.

Playa Bejuco
For a beautiful day of soaking up the sun in peaceful quiet surroundings, the brown sand beaches of Playa Bejuco can’t be beat. Nestled only a few miles from more bustling centers, this little piece of Costa Rica paradise is a perfect place to spend some down time.

Playa Zancudo
This beach spot is situated far from the tourist crowds as well along the southern Pacific coast. The beach is unusual black sand and is surrounded by a backdrop of coconut palms and almond trees. There are water and land activities to be enjoyed as much or as little as a tourist might wish.

Poas
This quiet little town is close to some of the major centers but has not yet been developed for tourism. Visitors say that it is one of the most relaxing, safe and quiet areas of the country and one of the few places remaining that allow you to experience life here that has remained untouched by commercialism. Taxis and buses are very inexpensive and can take you from Poas to any number of nearby attractions such as rafting, volcano tours and canopy adventures. The only drawback to this lazy little town is its weather. Unlike most of the popular tourist areas that are hot and humid, Poas is wet and rainy.

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After working for so many months nonstop, the only thing you can think about is your holidays. At that time of the year, you feel tired and exhausted. So what you need is a nice place to relax, away from your hectic life, where there is no rush, no traffic jams, and no timetables. You picture yourself walking by the sea, looking at the sunset and listening to the songs of the birds. But you also want to have fun: go to parties until dawn, go to some out of the way places, and, why not, take part in some adventurous activities. Because, after all, during your holidays, all you want to do is relax and enjoy. Is there a magical place on Earth that fits the above description? Of course, and it is called COSTA RICA.

Costa Rica is famous for its beaches, its turquoise water and its breathtaking tropical rainforests. So one of the things you can do in this amazing country is to walk along the beach, lay in the warm sun, swim or practice sports, such as windsurfing, surfing, snorkeling and kayaking. Besides, you can hike through the tropical rainforests, where you will be able to see numerous exotic plants and trees, as well as over 150 species of birds, monkeys and iguanas, among many others. This is the perfect opportunity to be in contact with wildlife and to listen to the sounds of nature.

Moreover, if you are a sportfishing fan, Costa Rica has a place for you. By taking a charter boat in the port, you will be taken to inshore fishing, where awesome species await you, namely, mahi mahi, yellow fish tuna, snapper, mackerel and rooster fish. If you are a more adventurous person, Costa Rica will also accommodate you. When you travel to this incredible country, you have the possibility to enjoy more than 65 different activities that will rush your adrenaline and increase your heartbeats. Canopy tours, volcano tours, river rafting, horseback riding and crocodile tours are the most popular ones among tourists.

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that Costa Rican people are amazing. They are always ready to help you and to make you feel as comfortable as possible. If you are not sure about the activities you can do or the places you can visit, there are very useful tourist information centers, where a nice lady or gentleman will be willing to point out the best places to visit in the country.

To sum up, stop thinking about the possible cities or countries where you can spend your holidays; choose Costa Rica vacations. It is the perfect place to not only relax and forget about your hectic life in the city, but also to enjoy and have fun. Without any doubt, Costa Rica is a paradise surrounded by crystal water.

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Costa Rica, with its tropical year round climate and variety of beautiful beaches and rivers is one of the best locations in the world for kayaking.  Whether you’re cruising down a lazy river or fighting white water, kayaking in Costa Rica is an adventure to remember.  The wide diversity of the area makes a kayak ride a different adventure wherever you choose to travel, whether it’s on a river, a lake or in the ocean.  If kayaking is something you might like to add to your Costa Rica vacation, here are three unique destinations to consider.

Lake Arenal Kayaking
Lake kayaking in Costa Rica is a gentle experience for families that like to get out on the water together, and Lake Arenal is the perfect destination. Many tour companies offer guided kayak tours to help travelers get the absolute most out of their days on the water.  While out on the lake, paddlers will marvel at the vista of rolling hills and tropical forests that surround the lake, and nothing on earth can quite compare to watching lava spew from the top of the Arenal Volcano which can be seen from the lake as you paddle by.

Curu Sea Kayaking
For this trip, paddlers enter the open waters of the Gulf of Nicoya, where they are very likely to drift along beside sea turtles and manta rays. These waters are best traveled as part of a guided tour and several are offered from various companies in multi day packages.  One of the main attractions you will see as you drift through the emerald green waters of the gulf is natural rock archway near Las Islas Tortugas that was formed entirely by the sea.  Most of the tours through this area are all inclusive, meaning your meals, group transportation to and from launch points, equipment and camp lodging is included.  This trip is more adventurous than the lake water  kayaking, and professionals recommend that participants have some previous kayaking experience. Close attention is paid to safety of the participants and a support boat accompanies the tour to assist any paddlers who may encounter difficulties.

Whitewater Kayaking
If you’re an experienced whitewater kayaker, Costa Rica has plenty of challenge to offer you in both Class ll/lll and lll/lV extreme rapids on river waters that run through the Turrialba Valley.  Day tours for this type of paddling generally range from two to twenty-one miles.  You’ll find the shortest run on the lower Orosi River that boasts interesting views of the many coffee plantations of the area.  This 45 minute run includes 15 rapids to manoeuvre making it a challenging trip.   Two other rivers, the Sarapiqui and the Upper Pacuare offer an even more difficult series of rapids over a three hour ride and reach difficulty levels of lll-V.  All whitewater tours include equipment, transportation, meals and guide.

With these three choices for kayaking in Costa Rica, you are sure to be able to find the right water and the right challenge to suit your style.

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Seems like every time Costa Rica is mentioned during office coffee breaks, or at parties and other types of social gatherings, someone in the group has been there, or is planning to go to a Costa Rica resort, or is moving soon, or knows someone who has done one or several of the above.

It is true, Costa Rica is in; beachfront property is in high demand, and real estate sales have grown significantly in recent years.

The beaches in Costa Rica are one of its main treasures, so much so that a large number of foreigners who go on vacation end up buying land, and some even establish themselves in this gorgeous country.  In fact, many want to buy more than one piece of property, which is what has created a huge demand for beach property.

The country has two coastlines, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean, presenting very varied land owning opportunities to address every taste.  And this is not all, for mountain lovers, Costa Rica also offers gorgeous land in the background; spaces enclosed in green forests and bathed by clear rivers.

At the beach, the number of houses being built is quite significant due to the demand for these properties.  There are beautiful projects being developed all over the province of Guanacaste, on the Pacific side, however, those who like the sea breeze and prefer big properties should look around the Dominical area and Osa Peninsula, on the Caribbean side.  There are also interesting opportunities in Faro Escondido, Los Sueños, and Jacó, in Puntarenas province.

You can schedule a meeting with the developers to learn what’s planned for a specific area and choose based on what meets your requirements.  There’s no one better than the developer to guide you to the best beach properties in Costa Rica.

One thing you have to understand is that when you buy beach land in Costa Rica you are paying for the land plus the atmosphere and setting surrounding it.  Some areas are so captivating that some people just can’t get enough of them, and go for more than one property and even end up retiring there.

If you’re thinking about buying land in Costa Rica and are living in another country, you may find a great deal of information on areas and properties on the web.  You will be able to find details like size of the property, area and boundaries according to legal views, and the kind of ownership it is currently under.

The best move is to get a local attorney to help you with the legal part, since you most probably know very little or nothing about Costa Rica’s real estate laws, and you want to make sure you comply with everything in the best way possible.

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Costa Rica is fast becoming one of the world’s most popular wedding and honeymoon locations. If you’re looking for the perfect destination wedding spot or for an ideal romantic getaway after your Big Day, here are 10 great reasons why Costa Rica might be the country for you:

1.Convenience
Flights from the east coast of the USA are both direct and affordable. You might fly out at 7am and end up sipping cocktails by your hotel pool by 2pm! Most of the locals speak English and you can pay with dollars in many places.

2.Lots to do
There is an endless list of exciting activities to keep you occupied during your stay. These include deep sea fishing, scuba diving, hiking through national parks or mountain trails, canopy tours, volcano tours, river rafting, bird watching, surfing, horseback riding, crocodile tours, sea kayaking and visits to the country’s renowned hot springs, waterfalls, butterfly gardens, beaches and rainforests.

3.Hospitality and service
Costa Rica is famous for its gracious hospitality. Costa Ricans have a popular motto - ‘Pura Vida’ or ‘pure life’ - which is apparent in the warm and genuine nature of the locals. You’ll also find some of the world’s best holiday resorts, where the service is acclaimed.

4.Beautiful flowers and foliage
If you choose to have your wedding in Costa Rica, you can enjoy decorating your event with the most beautiful exotic flowers and foliage. In particular, Costa Rica is famed for its 1200 varieties of orchids - in every color of the rainbow. You can be sure these unique details will add special beauty and magic to your wedding day and wedding photos.

5.Exotic wildlife
Wherever you stay, you can be sure to enjoy some of the country’s unique wildlife. Where else can you go to your balcony and spot exotic birds, monkeys and iguanas enjoying the beautiful surroundings with you?

6.Culture
Along with the perfect weather and exotic backdrop, there is a wonderful culture to enjoy. Sample the joys of Costa Rican life such as the cuisine, textiles, pottery and music. It’s a beautiful culture to explore!

7.Food
You can be sure to enjoy a vast array of foods to get your mouth watering every day. Favorite Costa Rican dishes include fresh fish, fresh tacos, plantains and Huevos Rancheros (ranch eggs) with avocados and fresh fruit juice for breakfast!

8.Easy to marry
Though it is important that you give some attention and time to the legal requirements needed to get married in Costa Rica, the country is one of the easiest places for foreigners to tie the knot. This means you can concentrate on enjoying your special day and the honeymoon afterwards!

9.Breathtaking wedding backdrop
There is nothing more idyllic for your wedding backdrop than the views Costa Rica has to offer. They range from dramatic mountains, dreamy beaches, secluded beauty spots and even rainforest locations.

10.Renowned villas
Costa Rica has a range of exclusive villa resorts which offer ideal locations to host a wedding, house guests and also provide a dream honeymoon. They offer wedding and honeymoon packages that will see you surrounded by the most beautiful natural beauty and stunning backdrops. Resorts have a first-class concierge service to help you design the wedding of your dreams, staff to help with last minute arrangements, world-class cuisine, elegant function rooms, transportation for guests, floral arrangement services and secluded private villas for the ultimate honeymoon experience.

Costa Rica is a third-world country that has first-class lessons to teach the rest of the world.

Costa Rica is known as the Switzerland of Central America probably because of its splendid mountains and scenery.  However, it is Switzerland that ought to be called the Costa Rica of Europe.  Unlike this European country, and the other ones in Central America, which decided long ago to exploit their natural resources to the point of extinction, Costa Rica chose sustainability.

Switzerland and Central America were once territories full of wildlife; however, someone decided that there was no room for both men and animals there.  They chose economic richness over the natural and life-preserving wealth.  They chose to change and artificially create a new country instead of flowing with the natural energy they possessed, which made them special.  Only Costa Rica took a completely different approach.

Costa Rica is bursting with wildlife. It houses 20% of all the species of plants and animals around the world; between 500,000 and 1,000,000 species of animals and plants call Costa Rica their home.

While its neighboring countries burned and cut down forests and exploited their animals, Costa Rica restored and protected them.  It rejected millionaire propositions to exploit its soil and chose sustainability, and its citizens and visitors supported it.

National parks and preserves where created. People started visiting the country to see what was disappearing everywhere else, and eco tourism became a strong product.

In the last 30 years, and with a per capita income that is a fraction of Switzerland’s, Costa Rica has made numerous first-class achievements to be proud of:

1.It planted enough trees to grow its forest areas more than 20%, causing the return of wildlife that had disappeared decades ago.

2.It established more than a quarter of the country as national parks, reserves, and refuges.

3.It stated that by 2021, the country will be the first carbon neutral country in the world, and it has announced how it will be done.

4.It created the world’s largest green sea turtle preserve on the Caribbean coast, and the world’s largest olive ridley sea turtle preserve on the Pacific coast.

5.It has been chosen as the world’s happiest place, based on its level of health, satisfaction with life, devotion to preservation, and sustainable development.

6.It has become one of the most stable countries in the Western Hemisphere and a first-class tourist destination.

The comparison between Costa Rica and Switzerland is meant to flatter the Central American country; however, there’s a lot this European nation can learn from the rich vision this small third world country lives by.

Here are some facts about Costa Rica.  Its citizens may not even know some of these, so here’s your chance to impress people while on your Costa Rica vacation.

.TOPOGRAPHY
Costa Rica is located in Central America, flanked by the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, Nicaragua, and Panama.  A volcanic mountain chain crosses the country from the northwest to the southeast and divides the country in two.

The Atlantic coastline is 132 miles long and the Pacific coast is 635 miles long.  There are 112 volcanic craters in the country, some of which are still active.  Poas volcano has the biggest crater in the world and Arenal volcano is one of the most active volcanoes worldwide.

In the center of the country there is a plateau called “Valle Central” (Central Valley).

.COORDINATES
Costa Rica is located 10 00 N 84 00 W from the Equator line.

.AREA
The country measures a total of 51,100 sq Km, including the Cocos Island territory, this is, 50,660 sq Km of land, and 440 sq Km of water.

.LAND BOUNDARIES
Costa Rica is bordered by Nicaragua in 309 Km and Panama in 330 Km.

CAPITAL CITY
The capital city is San José.

.WEATHER
Costa Rica is a tropical country and only has two seasons: the dry season, which goes from December to April, and the rainy season, which goes from May to November.  The Caribbean is normally humid all year round, and the towns on the coast are very hot and humid.

The temperature ranges from 15C, or 60s F, during the night, to the 30C, or 90s F, during the day.

.POPULATION
Costa Rica has a population of 4,509,209 inhabitants.  The majority, more than 50%, lives on the “Valle Central”, which comprises 4% of the whole country’s territory.

.LITERACY RATE
98% of the population knows how to read and write.

.LIFE EXPECTANCY
Costa Ricans are expected to live an average of 79 years.

.LANGUAGE
Costa Rica’s official language is Spanish, but a lot of people speak English.

.RELIGION
The leading religion is Catholicism; however, you can find Jewish, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans, among many others.

Catholic masses are offered all week long throughout most of the country’s territory.

.GOVERNMENT
Costa Rica is a republic and the government is elected democratically every 4 years.  The new recently elected president is Mrs. Laura Chinchilla Miranda, the first woman ever to be elected president in the country.

.HEALTH CARE
Sanitary assistance is excellent and the standards are very high.  There are private clinics and hospitals all over San José and in the most populated areas of the country.  You can find many private clinics that specialize in orthodontics and plastic surgery.

.UNIVERSITIES
The majority of young people go to the university after they finish high school.  There are state and private universities, and many graduates go to the United States or Europe to earn Masters, Doctorate, or PhD degrees.

.ELECTRICITY
The national voltage is 110.  European plugs don’t work in Costa Rica; thus, you will need an adaptor of the American type to use your electric appliances.  You can ask for one at your hotel or get it in advance.

.WATER
You can drink tap water safely in Costa Rica.

.COMMUNICATIONS
The majority of tourist areas have direct dial telephone service, fax, and Internet with email access.  The telephone system is automatic.  You may have problems when talking on your cell phone from certain remote areas, however satellite phones might work.

.INDUSTRIES
Costa Rica is home to companies that range from electronics to food processing, as well as apparel, medical services, construction materials, and plastic products.

You can find almost everything you find in the United States, and prices are normally set in American dollars.  You can pay in dollars or colones, the national coin.

.UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Around 6.4% of Costa Ricans are estimated to have no employment as of 2010.

.PATRIOTIC SYMBOLS

Costa Rica’s flag

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-Costa Rica’s great seal

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-Costa Rica’s national tree: Guanacaste tree

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-Costa Rica’s national bird: Yigüirro

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-Costa Rica’s national flower: Guaria morada

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Costa Rica’s typical transportation vehicle: Oxcart

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Costa Rica’s national anthem: National Hymn of Costa Rica

Are you bored of your daily routine?  Need a new adventure?  Want some time to disappear and relax?

There is a small place right in the middle of the Americas where you can experience life at a very unique level: Costa Rica.  Called by many the Central American Switzerland, Costa Rica’s beauty will amaze you in more than one way.

Here we give you 10 fantastic reasons to choose Costa Rica as your next vacation spot:

1.The high tourist season is over, so you will find great travel deals to visit Costa Rica in the next few months.

2.Costa Rica has 780 miles of perfect coastline housing hundreds of beautiful beaches, many of them isolated and hidden from crowds.

3.Do you like fauna?  Well, in Costa Rica you will be able to see hundreds of interesting animal species, and there are more butterfly species than in the entire African continent, including the only butterfly in the world that makes a sound.  Likewise, Costa Rica is a favorite destination for bird watchers because there are almost as many species as on the entire European continent and the continental United States.

4.Costa Rica is about the same size as West Virginia, and in it you will find around 5% of all the kinds of plants and animals in the planet, this is, one of every five species of plants and animals in the world is found in Costa Rica.

5.Can you think of another place in the planet where you can drive all the way up to the top of a volcano and see the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, at the same time, on a clear day?  Don’t think so!

6.Are you in need of health care but North American medicine is too expensive for you?  Consider doing medical tourism in Costa Rica and get world-class care at a third of the price you would pay in the United States.  Many insurance companies happily cover health care in Costa Rica because of its prime quality and prices.

7.Costa Rica is the place to be adventurous.  Learn to surf or windsurf, go bungee jumping, experience canopy, or cross the mountains over a horse.  There is nothing conventional about a Costa Rican vacation.

8.Can you imagine having sunny days all year round?  Swimming in warm ocean waters every single day of the year?  Well, this is how it is in Costa Rica, great weather always.

9.Do you like fishing?  Costa Rica fishing is famous around the world for a good reason; you can catch a 200-pound tarpon in a small river.  The rule is to catch and release.

10.Come see what it is like to be surrounded by a stable democracy.  Costa Rica has no army, it was abolished more than 70 years ago, and everyone there is friendly and courteous, always happy to see you.  Costa Ricans, or ‘ticos’, as they are known, truly like North Americans and Europeans.

Make up your mind and book your flight!  Costa Rica is awaiting you between two oceans of wonders, but be careful, you may not want to leave… many haven’t.

The first splash of the river after hitting that first monster wave inducts you to this wild river adventure.  You’ve read the blogs, seen the reviews, but, as the cliché goes, nothing quite prepares you for that.  One thing does comply with what you’ve Googled, and that is that the Pacuare River lives up to its prestige as one of the top whitewater rivers in the world as mentioned in National Geographic.  As a part of Costa Rica adventure, it is a “must-do” during your Costa Rica vacation.

Venturing down the river, a cool 108 km stretch starting from the Cordillera de Talamanca and flowing out to the Caribbean, the scenery by the river is as you’ve seen in the movies: virgin rain forest with an occasional glimpse of wild animals going about the river banks.  If you keep an eye out, it is not unusual to see toucans flying over ahead or anteaters and raccoons sipping by the river shore, and if you listen, you’ll hear the cries of howler monkeys from a not so distant tree.  The river path passes through the Braulio Carillo National Park, where lies an Indian reservation, you might get the chance to see the indigenous people from the Cabecar tribe fishing by the river. If you wave at them, they might wave back at you, if they didn’t happen to have their hands full from an earlier catch.  The beauty of the Pacuare River is that it is divided into sixteen parts, where some parts, as my previous river guides had described them to me before, were “plateaus” and the rest varies between Class III and IV level kind of waters.  These plateaus, the calmer parts of the river, allow you to enjoy the river scenery and give the paddling a rest.

There are many whitewater rafting companies throughout the country, reputable ones includes Rios Tropicales with its 25 years of experience in the industry, Aventuras Naturales in which provides lunch by the river’s edge for day trips,  and Serendipity that offers a more luxurious and catered service such as personalized treatment and gourmet meals.  For most, the package tours are, in essence, the same.  Variations are in the quality and presence of certain facilities and service.  The usual package includes pick up and drop-off transportation service, breakfast and lunch, free use of the rafting equipments, and places to change for One Day tour packages, and accommodations for overnight packages.  The overnight packages, varying between two or more nights of stay, usually includes lodging by the river where guests are able to fish by the river or to take on trails along the rainforest.  The lodging itself are airy cabin looking structures that overlook the river, and they include the basic commodities such as bathroom, bed, and electricity. If you should be staying at Los Suenos, their Diamond Concierge team can easily organize an exciting all-day whitewater rafting trip for your family or friends. It’s also a great option without all the fuss of having to organize your own trip.

The adventure on the Pacuare River is a memorable experience and can be shared for those on a Costa Rica family vacation, providing that each family member meets the required conditions.  It is a treasured experience that can be done alone (they will include you in a group that needs more people in a raft) or be shared in a group or your family.

From the first splash to the last, the ripples of Pacuare river journey will stay with you as far as you can remember. As you step off that raft at the end of the trip, wet and dripping, you couldn’t help feel some sort of triumph and accomplishment. As your clothes dry, those memories remain, and those memories will make a great story as part of the highlights in your Costa Rica adventure.

Monteverde’s Cloud Forest, in Costa Rica, is a type of rain forest, but a type that can only be found in two places in the world, and this is one of them.

Cloud forests are magnificent and bursting with wild life; they are packed with hundreds, if not thousands, of birds, mammals, and exceptionally rich flora.

Monteverde Cloud Forest, specifically, was voted one of Costa Rica’s seven wonders.  It is visited by tens of thousands of tourists yearly who go there to be amazed by nature, and by scientists who visit it to try to understand nature more deeply.

This place offers an amazing sensorial and spiritual experience, but what exactly is it?

As mentioned before, a cloud forest is a type of rain forest; it is a complex ecosystem that is only able to survive in very particular tropical mountain areas.  Its elevation is so high, that the majority of the time the forest is covered by clouds, so, the water is directly placed on the leaves of the trees and plants instead of through rain.

In the higher places, water drips persistently from the leaves of the trees and plants, making it the perfect environment for wild life to survive.  You will be able to see it with your own eyes. There is life everywhere, masses of trees, plants like ferns, flowers and mosses, growing on the trees, and animals flying, jumping, walking, and running through and over them.

The clouds are the eternal companions, and it can get very cold for someone who has been experiencing the tropics, but remember that it is the cloud forest, a place where the weather is as different as the forest’s life.

There are more than 755 tree species in Monteverde, probably more, and around 358 fern species, some of which get so big that they can be regarded as trees.  You will see about 40 to 50 tree species producing fruit at any time, creating an environment so rich in food that it attracts thousands of birds and mammals to its core.

Monteverde is especially attractive for people who like bird watching; there are more than 425 bird species there, some so rare and difficult to spot that it is a gem when you finally do.  There is no way someone can remain immune to the beauty of watching these birds behave in their natural habitat.

Besides the species that dominate the skies, Monteverde is home to hundreds of mammals too.  There are 6 species of big cats that are confirmed to live in the area, and 68 species of bats, besides the howler monkeys, foxes, sloths, and armadillos, only to name a few.

The cloud forest makes Costa Ricans proud.  Besides boosting the economy, it offers jobs to thousands of people, and evidences one of the major fortunes this country possesses and one that is cherished and envied by many others: its nature.

Even if you only visit it once in your life, Monteverde will leave its mark on you; you will never forget it and the life lessons it will teach you.