National Parks in Costa Rica

Costa Rica protects a quarter of its total territory under the aegis of a carefully structured system of national parks, wildlife refuges and biological reserves – in all, there are currently more than 185 designated protected areas. Gradually established over the last 35 years, the role of these parks in conserving the country’s rich fauna and flora is generally lauded.

In total, the parks and reserves harbour approximately five percent of the world’s total wildlife species and life zones, among them rainforests, cloudforests, paramo (high-altitude moorlands), swamps, lagoons, marshes and mangroves, and the last remaining patches of tropical dry forest in the isthmus. Also protected are areas of historical significance, including a very few pre-Columbian settlements, and places considered to be of immense scenic beauty – valleys, waterfalls, dry lowlands and beaches. Costa Rica has also taken measures to safeguard beaches where marine turtles lay their eggs, as well as a number of active volcanoes.

Visiting the parks

Despite their role in attracting tourists to the country, national parks – and the national park system in general – are underfunded, and facilities at some of the more remote and less visited parks (such as Juan Castro Blanco, Volcán Turrialba and La Cangreja) can be surprisingly threadbare or even non-existent. Most parks, however, have an entrance puesto, or ranger station, often little more than a small hut where you pay your fee (usually around $10) and pick up a general map. Typically, the main ranger stations – from where the internal administration of the park is carried out, and where the rangers (or guardaparques) sleep, eat and hang out – are some way from the entrance puesto; it’s a good idea to pay these a visit, as you can talk to the guardaparques (if your Spanish is good) about local terrain and conditions, enquire about drinking water and use the bathroom. In some parks, such as Corcovado, you can sleep in or camp near the main stations, which usually provide basic but adequate accommodation, be it on a campsite or a bunk, in a friendly atmosphere.

In general, the guardaparques are extremely knowledgeable and informative and are happy to tell you about their encounters with fearsome bushmasters or placid tapirs. Independent travellers and hikers might want to ask about the possibility of joining them on patrol during the day (you’ll probably have to speak some Spanish), while the more adventurous can volunteer to help out at remote ranger stations; you have to be pretty brave to do this, as you are expected to do everything that a ranger does, which includes patrolling the park (often at night) against poachers.

Opening times

Outside the most visited parks – Volcán Poás, Volcán Irazú, Santa Rosa and Manuel Antonio – opening hours are erratic. Many places are open daily, from around 8am to 4pm, though there are exceptions, while other parks may open a little earlier in the morning. Unless you’re planning on camping or staying overnight, there’s almost no point in arriving at a national park in the afternoon. In all cases, especially the volcanoes, you should aim to arrive as early in the morning as possible to make the most of the day and, in particular, the weather (especially in the wet season); early morning is also the best time to spot the wildlife that the parks protect. You’ll usually find a guardaparque somewhere, even if he or she is not at the ranger station – if you hang around for a while and call “¡Upe!” (what people say when entering houses and farms in the countryside), someone will usually appear.

Costa Rica’s protected areas are overseen by the Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservación (National System of Conservation Areas), or SINAC, which operates within MINAE and can provide information on individual parks, transport and camping facilities. The only central office where you can make reservations and buy permits, where required, is the Fundación de Parques Nacionales, who will contact those parks for which you sometimes need reservations, chiefly Santa Rosa, Corcovado and Chirripó; other parks can be visited on spec.