Recently updated on January 17th, 2020 at 11:15 pm
When you think of eco-tourism, Costa Rica is usually the country that springs to mind. With its many national parks and protected areas, Costa Rica is a very popular destination for travellers who like their holidays to be environmentally friendly.
Guanacaste National Park
This national park which is located in the north of Costa Rica was created to make a corridor so animals could easily migrate from the rain forest to the dry forest. This park, which is a conservation area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site is home to over 10,000 species of animals ranging from birds, mammals toย insects.
TortugUero NAtional Park
Tortuguero National Park might be the most remotely located park in Costa Rica, but it’s also the most visited park in the country. It’s also a protected area with no less than eleven different habitats here, like rain-forests, swamps, beaches and lagoons. No wonder it’s the perfect home for many endangered species like the manatee, American crocodile and marine turtles.
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve
Technically, this is not a national park,but a private reserve. This doesn’t make it any less eco-friendly as it is also a protected area and it’s rich bio-diversity attracts many visitors and scientists. It’s home to animals like the golden toad, the quetzal and many other exotic species. You can walk around the reserve on raised walkways that give you a bird’s eye view of the cloud forest. And if you feel very adventures you might want to try your hand atย zip-lining among the treetops.
Braulio Carillo National Park
Even though this National Park is bisected by a very busy highway, Braulio Carilloย is still a major conservation area. In fact it was created to prevent urbanization along the highway when it was first constructed. It’s a very diverse park with cloud and rain forests, volcanoes and rivers making it a home for over 700 species of animals, like hummingbirds, Bare-necked Umbrellabirds and bushmasters.