#ecoturism

A boiling jungle in Costa Rica

It is an area of dense rainforest, but the foliage, it emerges steam that comes from boiling pools. There is no shortage of areas where mud pot boils, and where the temperature becomes unbearable. Just below the surface of the nearby volcano activity is present, but just give some clues. Rincón de la Vieja in Costa Rica is nothing usual combination of geothermal activity covered by dense jungle, they say, is one of the most fascinating corners of the entire country.

View from Cerro Amigos

Cerro Amigos is the highest point (6,000ft) in the Monteverde reserve. On a clear day, you can see Arenal, the Pacific, and even across the border north to Nicaragua. 

Photo: Dennis Tang 

Rio Celeste Falls.

One of the northernmost of Costa Rica’s 26 national parks, Tenorio Volcano is home to the Rio Celeste and this waterfall. 

Photo: Bruce Thomson

Rhinoceros beetle

Rhinoceros beetles can reach lengths of up to six inches and are found in multiple parks in Costa Rica. They are completely harmless—they can’t bite or sting. They may, however, freak you out. 

Photo: Lyn Gatele

Scarlet macaws. This distinctive parrot species can be seen in a few of Costa Rica’s preserves. The pair shown above was photographed near Carara National Park. 

Photo: Andrew Morrell

boy-code:

instantwishes:

Explosion of 8 million flower petals over a town in central Costa Rica

…as part of a sony advert

Surfing Costa Rica

People have been traveling to surf Costa Rica for decades—there are breaks to hit all along the Pacific coast, as well as a few on the Caribbean side. 

Photo: Darren Johnson

Green Lagoon, Irazú Volcano

Within one of the multiple craters at the summit of the volcano Irazú is this green lake, so colored on account of its chemical content. 

Photo: Cristina Valencia

Cocoa beans, raw ingredient of Costa Rican chocolate.

Many small-scale chocolate producers operate in Costa Rica, offering tours of their working facilities. 

Photo: Everjean

Monkey silhouettes

A pair of monkeys, mother and child, spotted at the luxury resort Hacienda Pinilla, on the Nicoya Peninsula. 

Photo: Paul Kehrer

Agujitas River at Drake Bay

The relatively short Agujitas River rises in the forested hills of the Osa Peninsula and empties into Drake Bay just north of Corcovado National Park. 

Photo: Trish Hartmann

Hummingbird

Costa Rica is home to over 800 known species of birds. This hummingbird was photographed in Alajuela. 

Photo: Jon Fife

Playa Herradura sunset

Another Pacific sunset, this one taken in Playa Herradura, one of the country’s most popular tourist draws, located an hour west of San Jose. 

Photo: Andrew Morrell

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

Near the town of the same name, in the Tilarán Mountains, this reserve protects a 26,000-acre tract of virgin rainforest consisting of six different eco zones and tremendous biodiversity. 

Photo: Thomas Frost Jensen

White-headed capuchin

This is one of four species of monkey native to Costa Rica and probably the easiest to spot. It can make its home in pretty much any type of tropical forest. 

Photo: Gloria Manna

Poas Volcano

A good 3,000 feet taller than Arenal is Volcán Poás, another active volcano in central Costa Rica. It has erupted 39 times since 1828 and has dual crater lakes near the summit. 

Photo: Apetitu

Sunset over Manuel Antonio

On the central Pacific coast near Quepos, this is the sunset view from Buena Vista Villas & Casas, in Manuel Antonio National Park. 

Photo: kansasphoto

Catarata del Toro

Just north of San Jose, this waterfall plunges from a hole in the cliff face 300 feet to the bottom of an extinct volcanic crater. 

Photo: Steve Jurvetson

Vibrant butterfly

A large chunk of Costa Rica’s biodiversity is made up by its 300,000+ species of insects, which include 1,250 butterfly species—10% of the world’s total. 

Pacific sunset.

A mellow sundowner on the Pacific coast near Nuevo Colon, Guanacaste. 

Photo: Melissa Roy