Ecotourism in Costa Rica

Over these last 20 years, Costa Rica has passed from being a virtually unknown country to one of the top destinations for tourism and now ecotourism. This small Central American country attracts more people year after year for its glorious beaches, primary and secondary cloud and rain forests, volcanoes, and National Parks, and for its extraordinary flora, fauna and biodiversity.

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While Costa Rica was still very inexperienced in the matter of tourism a couple of decades ago, it has shown great improvement; its many hotels that go from the flashy all inclusive five star to the small and intimate boutique hotel enjoy unique and breathtaking locations, they are comfortable, friendly, and many offer guided tours to National Parks and to places of interest. Customer Service has also improved greatly, together with the infrastructure, and the opening of the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia means more people can fly directly to Guanacaste, for its beaches and national parks.

Costa Rica has also earned itself the reputation of being an ecologically friendly country that works hand in hand with ecotourism and it is increasingly active towards conserving its heritage. Those who seek in country where nature is still relatively virgin and unexplored will find their dream come true in Costa Rica. This heaven of natural simple beauty, with its combination of pristine white sand beaches, raging volcanoes and verdant primary and secondary forests is unique for its small size yet offers incredible variety thanks to its mini-ecosystems. From the plains of Guanacaste and its long wild beaches, to the green Central Valley, and the exotic Caribbean, the biodiversity of Costa Rica seems to have no limits! It is the home of the Osa Peninsula on the Southern Pacific Coast, home of the Corcovado National Park that was named the most biologically diverse place on Earth by National Geographic. Arenal is one of the most active volcanoes of the world and if weather permits it guarantees the spectacle of a lifetime. Costa Rica also protects some of the very last primary forests of the world.

National Parks like the Ballena Marino Park, the Braulio Carillo, Las Baulas Marine Park and Manuel Antonio National Park welcome tourists from all over the world coming to discover Nature at its very best. Indeed the total area of protected land in Costa Rica exceeds 1 million hectares. Costa Rica has more species of birds than the entire US with an estimated 850 including the migrating species. Costa Rica has 225 species of mammals, 175 amphibians and an astonishing 600,000 insects, of which 1250 are butterflies and 8000 species are moths. These numbers are almost too high to take in. In Corcovado alone, 2418 species of plants and about 700 species of trees have been recorded. Many of the species, like the Jaguars, the Ocelot, the Red Macaw and the Leatherback Turtle are endangered species and much is done to protect them, this has included fighting against poaching.

Ecotourism has been defined as being ” responsible travel to natural areas that conserve the environmental and sustain the well-being of local people.” In Costa Rica, efforts have been made towards the building of a relationship between nature, tourists and the local people who have also been educated towards finding jobs to serve ecotourism instead of destroying their beautiful land. More and more hotels are eco-friendly, using solar and hydraulic power and engaged in recycling, offering ecological educating tours to their guests and encouraging them to take part in activities.
It is no wonder that many visitors find that their attitude towards life, Planet Earth, and Ecology changes when they visit this incredibly beautiful and friendly country.

Inquire for more details on visiting Costa Rica at one of our many vacation rentals here at www.villascostarica.com or call toll free at 1 888-771-2976.