Protected Areas in Costa Rica

The Agua y Paz (Water and Peace) Biosphere Reserve in northern Costa Rica is comprised of Juan Castro Blanco National Park, Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge, four biological corridors, and an indigenous community. It is characterized by mountain ranges, volcanoes, and plains.

The Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve is a nature reserve in the southeastern Cordillera de Tilarán in northcentral Costa Rica. It is part of the Arenal Tilaran Conservation Area, which protects the tropical forest area near San Ramón.

Arenal National Park is located in Alajuela province in northwestern Costa Rica. The park encompasses the Arenal Volcano, an active andesitic stratovolcano. It was Costa Rica's most active volcano until 2010 and one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world.

Barbilla National Park is located on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera de Talamanca in Costa Rica, within the SINAC Caribbean La Amistad Conservation Area. It protects the humid lowland rainforest along the Caribbean slopes of the Talamancan mountain range.

Braulio Carrillo National Park is located in central Costa Rica within the volcanic Cordillera Central, one of the areas with the steepest topography in the country. The landscape consists of densely-forested high mountains that include volcanoes and canyons forged by several rivers.

Cahuita National Park is a pristine and biodiverse protected area located in the Limón Province on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, established to protect the country's largest coral reef. Home to several indigenous communities, it is part of the La Amistad International Park UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cocos Island lies off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and is the only island in the tropical eastern Pacific with a tropical rainforest. Surrounded by deep waters with counter-currents, Cocos Island National Park is admired by scuba divers for its populations of large marine species.

Nestled like a verdant jewel within the embrace of the Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica, Corcovado National Park is a living, breathing sanctuary that boasts the distinction of sheltering the largest expanse of primary forest along the American Pacific coastline. This expansive landscape hosts an extraordinary array of wildlife, with over 140 mammal species calling it home.

The Cordillera Volcánica Central Biosphere Reserve, located in the Central Highlands of Costa Rica, is rich in natural resources and cultural heritage. It encompasses four national parks, two forest reserves, six protected zones, and a national monument.

Nestled on the picturesque Nicoya Peninsula in western Costa Rica, Barra Honda National Park stands as a testament to the country's geological marvels and rich biodiversity. Established in 1974, this protected area in the province of Guanacaste encompasses a fascinating landscape shaped by millions of years of geological processes and teeming with diverse flora and fauna.