Costa Rica has a diverse biota of our surroundings, including excellent examples of
earth's most complex living systems. In the following links you will learn of
Costa Rica's complex micro climates, and rich enviroments from beaches to volcanoes.
Costa Rica established the National Parks System in 1970 to prevent the destruction of wilderness areas. Now 12
percent of the country is protected as national parks, and a further 16 percent as Indian reserves, biological
reserves, wildlife refuges and wildlife corridors. This means that more than a quarter of Costa Rica has been set
aside for conservation.
Many species that are threatened or even extinct in neighboring countries, still thrive here. The parks envelop
complex ecosystems ranging from cloud forest to marsh land, savanna, rain forest and coral reef, and contain
extraordinary biodiversity. In most parks it is possible to see several different habitats within the course of
a day. An international effort is underway to catalog Costa Rica's natural assets, but at the last count, this
tiny country was calculated to have just over 200 mammals (including six species of felines: jaguar, ocelot,
margay, puma, jaguarundi and tiger cats), 857 species of bird, 10,000 insects and over 9,000 species of higher
plants, including 1,200 orchids.
Most of the national parks are easily accessible to tourists and ecotourism is an important factor in generating
the funds needed to continue the protection of the wilderness. Over 290,000 people visited the parks in 1994, but
choose a week day and a park outside the Central Valley and the chances are you won't see a soul.
Climate
Volcanoes
Beaches
Indian Reserves
Islands of Costa Rica
National Parks and Reserves
Outstanding Facts
Sanctuaries
Serpentario
Feline Sanctuary - Profelis Rancho Matambu
