Costa Rica is a small country with enormous natural biodiversity which enables its visitors to enjoy lots of wildlife. What a place for a nature-based holiday! Waking to the noisy sound of howler monkeys in the trees is just one of the many special experiences we had. The lush natural environment is wild and nature accessible, as well as diverse. In all those different ecosystems I was most interested in the birdlife and in two weeks we spotted more than 240 species and many animals, monkeys, lizards and others. A feast of biodiversity!
Geography & climate
The country is divided into 29 national parks, 19 wildlife refuges and 8 biological reserves as well as a series of protected areas, so any holiday maker interested in flora and fauna will be well served, although you can only expect to be able to visit four or five different areas in a couple of weeks! The country is divided by high volcanic mountains which separates the Pacific from the Caribbean side. Each side of the country experiences its own regional climate and indeed we moved from very wet (and cold) with a cold weather front bringing copious rain to the Caribbean side, to hot and dry on the other side of the Divide. Each area was very different to the next which added to the interest with the varying trees, animals and plants. Within the different zones there are a great variety of habitats including rain forests of contrasting sorts, cloud forests, mangrove swamps, rivers and more.
Rainforest
There were many walks on trails through the forests and for some walks over ‘hanging bridges’ swinging in the breeze. The trails are well maintained and make for easy walking. Each of the layers of the rain forest can be divided into four layers; the forest floor, the understorey, the canopy and the emergent layer which is everything above the canopy, usually huge ancient trees and the view is often obscured from the ground. Each layer has its own specialised plants and animals, developed over thousands of years. Costa Rica is one of the few countries in the world which has determined that conservation is a priority and over 75% of their rain forests are protected.
Plants
Tree roots don’t penetrate the poor soils far enough to support the large tree height, many over 150 feet – so they have developed buttresses to give added strength to anchor the tree and provide stability. The jungles with these walking trails are different in their character depending on the climatic zone in which the national park is situated as well as whether this is tropical rain forest, dry forest or cloud forest.
The flora is fascinating. Unfamiliar flowering plants such as Heliconia in different shades of scarlet and yellow attract hummingbirds and insects to their nectar. A number of orchids of different colours and shapes were also not uncommon as well as many epiphytes on the trees in the forest. One of the most astonishing sights was the growth of Monstera deliciosa the Swiss cheese plant, growing up forest trees in deep darkness.
Animals
The animals were equally fascinating, howler monkeys appearing as we drove along the road, eating fruit in a tree alongside as well as crashing through the treetops as we walked along the trails below. We saw, howler monkeys, white faced capuchins and squirrel monkeys. The latter are the hardest to see and the smallest but delighted us running along wires above our heads as the sun was setting one evening. We saw several two-toed sloths although they were difficult to see high up in the branches as well as coatis who are related to racoons, a few tiny frogs and some lizards as well as the large and fascinating although not very beautiful iguana also high up in trees. Turtles and crocodiles, the list goes on.
The birds we had come to see were noisy, colourful, numerous and exciting from the smallest hummingbirds at less than 5 cm to the large tropical frigate birds soaring overhead. We enjoyed Macaws coming to enhance our breakfast, hummingbirds with our lunch and the stunning resplendent quetzal before breakfast! The butterflies were spectacular too with the Common Blue Morpho butterfly being the star; its brilliant colour, bright blue with a black edge and size 15-20 cm across (it is one of the largest butterflies in the world) flitting along in the sunlight was a sight to remember. We saw wading birds, many songbirds, owls, hawks and many, many others including toucans.
So, if you’re wondering where to travel next and you hold a special place for stunning landscapes, different climate zones in a short space of time, beaches and volcanoes as well as a myriad of animals and birds, I can recommend Costa Rica.
Visit Costa Rica Welcome to Costa Rica | Visit Costa Rica | The official site about tourism in Costa Rica
Wildlife Worldwide https://www.wildlifeworldwide.com/group-tours/cloud-forests-jungles-volcanoes
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