Gebied

The Village of Mastatal
Mastatal has a population of about 150 people and typifies rural Costa Rica in this part of the country. Most of the inhabitants live from the land. The people of Mastatal are reserved and incredibly kind. There is a church, school, village store, sheriff and dispensary.

Manuel Antonio National Park
This is one of Costa Rica’s most visited National Parks and is located about an hour and fifteen minute drive southeast.. Sandy beaches, cliffs, points, ravines, rivers, rainforest, varied wildlife and a very hot climate are some of the components of Manuel Antonio National Park on the Pacific coast, 7 kilometers south of Quepos Harbour.

The wildlife in the forest habitat consists mainly of white-faced capuchin, howler and squirrel monkeys, pacas, grey squirrels, raccoons, white-nosed coaties, and two- and three-toed sloths. Some of the bird species that live in the park are the brown pelican, laughing falcon, black-collared hawk, white ibis, white-bellied chachalaca, blue-crowned, manakin, fiery-billed aracari, green kingfisher and jacana.
Besides the forest there are other habitats such as mangrove swamp, lagoons, littoral woodland and island vegetation. The park houses a total of 109 species of mammals and 184 of birds. Crabs abound in the small intermittent lagoons covered with gramineous plants and heliconias, a typical species being the brightly coloured mouthless crab that migrates to the beach at the beginning of the rainy season. The lagoons are also home to caymans, boa constrictors, grass snakes, white-nosed coaties and raccoons. The islands and islets provide an important refuge for seabirds, especially common terns and magnificent frigatebirds. Brown pelicans inhabit Mogote and anhingas use Olocuita and Larga Islands as a mating and nesting site.

In the waters around the cliffs of volcanic-sedimentary rock, scientists have identified 19 species of coral, 78 of fish, 24 of crustaceans and 10 of sponges. Manuel Antonio National Park was created as a recreation area and from this point of view it provides certain facilities, such as picnic areas and lookouts. Among the scenic sites, some of the most attractive are: the tombolo at Cathedral Point, a long, sandy strip that joins what was Cathedral Island to the mainland; the cove at Escondido Harbour with blue-green waters surrounded by underwater caves and cliffs pounded by the surf; and the beautiful beaches where sometimes olive ridley and green turtles come to lay their eggs.

Carara Biological Reserve
This beautiful Reserve is located about an hour and one half drive..
Carara is a region of mountain ranges, marshes, meanders, forests, swamps, rivers and ravines, of crocodiles and macaws, of archaeological sites, and a very hot and humid climate. This small reserve of 4,700 hectares is located 4 kilometers southwest of the city of Orotina, as the crow flies, in the lower river basin of the River Grande de Tárcoles, which waters the Central Occidental or Westem Valley. It ranges from the rolling alluvial lowlands to the steep slopes of volcanic and sedimentary hills that rise 634 meters above sea level.

These tropical dry forests of Carara are highly susceptible to forest fires, an occurrence that takes place almost every year from January to April, the season of strong winds.
Despite the fact that the reserve is small, remote and frequently visited by poachers, it houses a very diverse wildlife. Over 100 pairs of scarlet macaws, perhaps the most beautiful birds on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, live and nest in the forests. Towards dusk they can be seen returning to their roosts in the mangrove swamps at the mouth of the River Grande de Tárcoles. The reserve also provides shelter for howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys, white-tailed deer, red brocket deer, collared peccaries, pacas, rattlesnakes and fer-de-lance snakes. Some of the birds of the region are the black guan, great egret, turkey vulture and laughing falcon. The swamps, an area where the river overflows, are where cayenne wood-rails, raccoons, lizards and several species of snakes and frogs find food and shelter. Anhingas, blue-winged teals, roseate spoonbills, Mexican tiger-bittems and a large colony of boat-billed herons (a curious bird with a beak in the shape of a boat) can be seen in the lagoon formed by a meander in the ancient river basin. Crocodiles, which can grow 3 meters long and are an endangered species, lie on the shore here and also on the little beaches along the River Grande de Tárcoles.

It is easy to get to Carara Biological Reserve as it lies on the road between Orotina-Jaco-Quepos-Manuel Antonio. Park Headquarters are located 2 kilometers south of the bridge over the River Grande de Tárcoles

Chirripó National Park
Chirripo National Park encompasses an area of 50,150 hectares (approximately 195 square miles) and is part of La Amistad International Park (Costa Rica-Panama). The park is located on the Talamanca Mountain Range, 20 kilometers Northeast from San Isidro de El General and about a 2 hour drive.

Chirripo means "Land of the Eternal Waters," and a hike to the summit during the rainy season proves the aptness of this title. Throughout the hike, one traverses numerous streams and brooks, and once atop Cerro Chirripo Grande, an immense expanse of lakes and lagoons unfolds before the viewer. High rainfall averages, steep topographic conditions, and ancient geo-climatic phenomena explain the presence of the lakes and lagoons, as well as glacial valleys. There are more than thirty small lagoons, some of which disappear during the dry season.

The flora in Chirripo National Park is one of the most complex and diverse of Costa Rica. The park owes its diversity to its wide altitude range, rising from 1500 m to 3819 m above sea level and to the unique microclimates of the Pacific and Caribbean Slopes.
In the park we find three distinct life zones: low mountainous rain forest (cloud forest of mid-altitudes), mountainous rain forest (cloud forest of high elevations), and sub-alpine rain paramo (tundra-type vegetation in the higher elevations of the range). The forest canopy reaches heights of 40 meters over the understory, but with increasing altitude, the height of the trees decreases precipitously, in the highest oak forests we rarely find trees of more than 20 meters, and canes of the genus Chusquea become more abundant.

The cloud forest possesses oak, magnolia, and aguacatillo (main food for quetzals) trees, as well as palm ferns. Mosses, ferns, and orchids blanket the soil and trees, and the low temperature slows the decomposition of organic matter, resulting in an accumulation of debris on the forest floor. The cloud forest has tremendous animal diversity. Birdwatchers may observe numerous species of brightly-colored birds, such as the reclusive but resplendent quetzal, and all hikers will be entertained along the trails by the singing of the jilgueros.

The paramo is found above 3400 meters of elevation. This type of dwarf vegetation is distributed along the high mountains of the tropical regions, and represents the northern limit of the Neotropical Paramos. A high percentage of the plants are endemic to this area, having adapted to the harsh climatic conditions.