National Park – Travel in Costa Rica

Cabo Blanco National Park

Monirul Hoque — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 14:17:08 +0000

It is one of the most scenically amazing and beautiful areas in the southern tip of Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica. This park was established in 1963 and it was the first protected site in the area. This is one of the best places for hiking, swimming and bird watching. It is famous for its sea bird sanctuary that is inhabited by large frigate birds which are around 150 species, laughing gulls, brown pelicans, common terns, ospreys and is dwelling places for plethora species. There are some perfect locations in the area to watch hundreds of pelicans as they soar while searching for fish.

1,270 hectares of mixed forest is what you find here. The forest is a habitant of large variety of animals and is 60 years old. It is a tropical moist forest and more than 150 types of trees have been identified. There is also dry forest species found here but the evergreen species predominate here. The most common trees you find here are bastard cedar, lance wood, dogwood, trumpet tree, gumbo-limbo, wild plum, and frangipani that are famous because they produce material used to make chewing gum. There are various impressive trees and the most abundant tree is the spiny cedar (pochote) with 40 meters high specimens. There is silk cotton tree (caoba) which is 60 meters.

There are different types of animals here, white tailed deer, coatis, raccoons, coyotes, capuchin monkeys, howler, white faced monkeys, hog nosed skunks and armadillos are some of the animals you will only find here. There are also wild cats that are less than unlikely to be seen in the wild like the ocelots, jaguarundis and the margay cats. It is a habitant for over 210 mammals, 218 of reptiles, over 35,000 species of insects and 878 of birds.

This is an area that you don’t have to mind about the weather because you can expect brilliant sunshine day after day from mid-December until April. Its summertime and the season for the tourist. This is the most appropriate time for those people who enjoy seeing the wildlife because at this time most of the trees and shrubs sheds their leaves making it easier to spot animals an also the best time to swim and relax. In the rainy season it is also a best time to visit because you will be able to view the most colorful sunsets at this time, it is also the least busy touristic time so for someone who needs a quiet place for chat it’s the best time for him.

The park is a living example that ecosystems can be restored through determination and forests can be regenerate if efforts towards conservation are pursued.

The cost is reasonable because the admission is 10 dollars and open from 8-4 Wednesday –Sunday and closed Monday and Tuesday. Always be sure to take one of the guided hiking tours to view all the wildlife Cabo Blanco has to offer and for sure you will enjoy.

For more information please visit: http://www.costaricajourneys.com/cabo-blanco-nature-reserve/

Ostional – The Turtle Beach

Geoff — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:54:11 +0000

Ostional is one of the most remarkable places in Costa Rica because every few weeks during turtle season, thousands of Olive Ridleys invade the beaches, laying their eggs by the gazillions.

Meanwhile, the babies are hatching in even greater numbers, and dozens of tourists and nature guides are running around trying to keep the hatchlings from being run over and squashed by the egg-laden mommies.

Not far from the beautiful surf and yoga town of Nosara, Ostional is one of those places you probably saw on TV at some point in your life. Millions of kids around the world are traumatized by nature videos of these baby turtles breaking free from their eggs, struggling without air to the surface through the sand, then running a gauntlet of ravenous predators such as vultures, hawks, foxes, raccoons, and beach crabs. If they survive these terrors, they try to enter the sea, where huge waves push them back and even more hungry fish and such await with hungry jaws. We are told that only 1 in 100 baby turtles survives to adulthood. So to actually SEE this and BE HERE at Ostional is an emotionally powerful event that everyone should experience once. Of course if everyone DOES try to experience this at Ostional, there will be millions of people on the beach crushing every living thing, but my point is that seeing the running of the sea turtles at Ostional is a great experience that I recommend to those who love nature.

Curu Beach and National Wildlife Refuge

Geoff — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 20:41:13 +0000

Located in the Southern Nicoya Peninsula, near to Santa Teresa, Montezuma, Tambor, and Paquera, Curu is one of the best parks to visit in Costa Rica. This small park is one of the best places to see animals, and it has reintroduction programs for both the Scarlet Macaw (a giant red and rainbow colored parrot) and the Spider Monkey, which is otherwise extinct in this part of Costa Rica.

In addition to have a very beautiful beach that looks out towards Tortuga Island, Curu also has an adventure tourism group that offers scuba diving, horseback riding, snorkeling, and guided nature tours.

Although it’s a national wildlife reserve, it’s also still a working sustainable ranch.

More Information about Curu:

Curu Wildlife Refuge – Info from CostaRicaJourneys.com
Curu Park on Montezumabeach.com – Info from Montezumabeach.com