The variety of Costa Rica natural attractions has fostered the boom of ecological tourism around the whole country.
All over the country, hotels and hostels have been built to make the foreigners feel at ease, along with private and public services and different kinds of transportation, either by land, air or sea. With just 51.100 square kilometers (31.937.5 square miles), that is, just 0.03% of the planet’s surface, Costa Rica shelters 6% of the biodiversity that inhabits the Earth. Lately, more than 9000 species of plants, 850 birds, 200 mammals and around 35000 kinds of insects have been identified.
Bioligical Diversity:
Several factors, both geographical and climatologic, coincided to create the ideal conditions that allowed plants and animals of different regions around the continent to settle in Costa Rica.
Around 200 million years ago, the submarine volcanic activity and the movements of the tectonic plates Coco and Caribbean caused several islands to emerge. Due to this condition, an isthmus was formed that connected the North and the South of what today is the American Continent.
In this small territory, the humidity that comes from both Atlantic and Pacific coasts is stocked in a mountain system that goes along the whole country, and that allowed the existence of a very wide hydrographical net that drains its surplus liquid through thousands of brooks, creeks and rivers. During their flow, they feed several lakes, ponds, swamps and lands, while they finally end into the seas, bringing to the marine system the nutrients that they carry away from the forest.
The combination of these factors create conditions under which several wildlife areas are developed, from the plain of the dry forest, in the South Pacific, to the cold highs over 3.200 meters, going trough the cloudy forest, the rain forests and the coralline reef.
All the Natural Patrimony is protected by a system of conservation areas, that is, 26 % of the territory.
North Caribbean
The capital of this area is the city of Limon (main city of the Costa Rican Atlantic). There is also the San Juan River that marks the border with Nicaragua.
The water is the main attraction of the region. Some especially interesting attractions are the sport fishing and an extensive net of interconnected channels in the middle of a lush forest, where it is possible to observe 4 species of turtles that come to lay their eggs between April and October every year.
It is possible to dive into the coral reefs and visit the botanical gardens and the biological reserves. There is even a gondola from which tourists can observe the wildlife of the rain forests.
South Caribbean
This area goes from Puerto Limon to the border with Panama, with multicolored beaches and a very diverse flora and fauna.
Its wide natural resources motivated the creation of the Escuela del Tropico Humedo (Humid Tropic School) for advanced students, citizens and foreigners interested in botanic and livestock research.
North Guanacaste
This region is the stage of an important part of the Costa Rican Natural and Cultural Patrimony. In fact, this area shelters a significant number of protected areas, with rich and complex systems of aquatic and terrestrial life.
Liberia
The area can be easy accessed, both by land or air. In this region tourists can find the Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Tamarindo (Tamarindo National Wild Life Refuge) (tamarindo is a fruit tree typical of this area). In this refuge it is possible to observe the spawn of the leatherback turtle, the biggest in the world.
There is the Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, (Santa Rosa National Park) that shelters the most important sample of dry tropical forest from Central America.
South Guanacaste
Its 110 kilometers (68,75 miles) of beaches offer several options to tourists interested in water and wild life.
In the Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Ostional (Ostional National Wild Life Refuge), -the name comes from ostiones (scallops), - the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle comes to nest, and its mangrove swamps are ideal places for bird watchers.
Moreover, there is also the Parque Nacional BARRA HONDA (Barra Honda National Park) with a wide system of caverns, of which just 19 have been explored.
North Plain
This area has several protected areas, lakes, ponds, volcanoes, rivers and waterfalls, with endangered species.
It is considered a sanctuary for aquatic birds, reptiles, mammals and a prehistoric fish called Gaspar that has fish and reptile characteristics and it is considered a live fossil.
Among the sites that attract ecological tourism, there are the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Cano Negro (Cano Negro Wild Life Refuge), the Estacion Biologica La Selva (La Selva Biological Station), the Arenal Volcano (always active), the Lago Arenal (Arenal Lake) and its variable marine life, and the Rio Tabacon (Tabacon River) with its medicinal hot thermal waters.
Monteverde
Canopy in Monteverde
This area is internationally known due the several efforts made to preserve the nature. The main attraction is the Monteverde Biological Reserve. There are zoological nurseries of insects, reptiles and amphibious.
In there, it is possible to observe a great diversity of butterflies, around 40 species of snakes and frogs raised in territories similar to their natural habitat. The natural reserve shelters 400 kinds of birds, among them the quetzal, 490 kinds of butterflies, more than 100 species of mammals, 2500 types of plants (500 are orchids) and dozens of thousands of insects.
Middle Pacific
In this region the beaches and protected areas stand out. There are wild areas, wild life refuges, national parks and biological reserves.
The visitors can enjoy every kind of facilities that they may need.
South Pacific
This is the area where the peninsula of OSA is located, the second biggest of the country, where it is possible to observe the migration of the humpback whale, which is an endangered species.
Because of its botanical gardens and its falls, the ecological tourism is the main income of the area.
In this territory, tourists can find the Parque Internacional y Reserva de la Biosfera La Amistad (La Amistad International Park and Biosphere Reserve), named ‘amistad’ (friendship) because belongs both to Costa Rica and Panama. It was declared Mankind Inheritance by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
There are other national parks, such as CORCOVADO and CHIRRIPO, both with abundant attractions for visitors that like to enjoy nature.
Puntarenas and The islands of the gulf
Puntarenas is one of the most important tourist regions of this Central American nation and it is just 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the capital.
From its port, tourists can travel by sea to communities located on the edges of the peninsula de Nicoya, the Natural Reserve Cabo Blanco, and San Lucas and Coco Islands. The latter was turned into National Park by the Government of Costa Rica and declared by the UNESCO as Mankind Inheritance in 1997.
Nowadays, it is considered as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
Ecotourism and Nature 
