Without a doubt, Costa Rica is a beautiful, spectacular country and a premier tourist destination. Most people, though, have never heard of its natural gem, Corcovado National Park. This teeny park covers only 100,000 acres (about 42,000 hectares) of the Osa Peninsula, situated along the south Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and protects eight unique habitats. It is unlike almost anywhere else on the planet and the largest remaining primary forest in Central America.

Most tourists do not realize that Costa Rica got its name from Christopher Columbus who explored the Americas in 1502. He sailed the Caribbean from Mexico south, landed south of what is now Limon, Costa Rica, and named his discovery 'Costa Rica' or the 'rich coast'. We can only imagine what he saw along the way. Spectacular tropical forests covering Central America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Waters teeming with fish, porpoises, and whales. So many sea turtles that seafarers, lost in the fog, found shore simply by listening to the sounds of tens of thousands of animals paddling towards nesting beaches.

Alas, the passage of five centuries has not been kind to either the forests or animals and today most of the primary forests from Mexico to South America have been cut down or burned. Fortunately, Costa Rica had the good sense to preserve Corcovado and its primary rainforest.

About 75 years after Columbus landed on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica an English sea captain, Sir Frances Drake (you may recall that he is the fellow who destroyed the Spanish Armada in 1588 and saved England from Spain), explored its Pacific coast and, indeed, landed in a lovely bay on the north end of the Osa Peninsula. Famous for its gateway to the Osa and its fabulous sports fishing, you may have heard of it: Drake Bay.

Do not be misled by the tiny size of this gem. Though it is less than 160 square miles in size (your daily commute is probably larger) this national park protects has been described by National Geographic as 'the most biologically intense place' on the planet. There are 400 species of birds in an area only about 20 miles long and 8 miles wide, half the size of New York City. How intense is this? Consider. The continental United States---48 States---has 900 or so different species. The largest remaining population of magnificent Scarlet Macaws in Central America lives there, some 1000. Visitors are regularly able to watch these birds in flight or feeding near the shoreline.

The mangrove swamps, montane forest and jolillo palms of Corcovado provide a home for 139 different species of mammal and 116 species of amphibians and reptiles. The mammals (including six species of wild cats) represent a 10th of the species of mammals still alive in the Americas and are supported on only 0.000101777% of the landmass.

If you are a fan of amphibians (I am talking about frogs here) Corcovado is a great place to spot the glass frog, poison-arrow frogs, and the rare red-eyed tree frog. It is also one of few places in Costa Rica you will find squirrel monkeys.

You'll find fishing bats hunting for fish over the rivers at night. This park is believed to be one of the last stands of the Harpy Eagle which is probably on its way to extinction in Costa Rica. The seemingly deserted beaches of the park provide a nesting ground for four species of sea turtle and because of the large tapir population jaguars and crocodiles also inhabit this area. They prefer to hunt around the edges of the Corcovado Lagoon and are often sighted. The footprints of this large carnivorous cat are often found in the mud trails which surround the lagoon.

The forests of Corcovado are as impressive as the rainforests of the Amazon, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This area receives as much as 400 cm or rain annually and torrential rains fall during the April to December months. It is best for visitors to plan a trip to Corcovado in the dry months which are January to April.

Vic Krumm writes from tropical Costa Rica in his beautiful Costa Rica Vacations website. Explore unique Corcovado Park here. Click here to get your own unique version of this article.

Next >