Costa Rica Facts and Figures

The Santa Rosa National Park is located in the province of Guanacaste, in the North Pacific of Costa Rica, just 36 Km north of the city of Liberia. It was created by Executive Order on March 20, 1972. It has an area of 37,117 hectares of ground and has 78,000 hectares in the sea. It is one of the most important historic areas of the country, the mansion of stone and pens were the scene of the largest national heroic epic: The Battle of Santa Rosa, on March 20, 1856.

The park is important for the protection and restoration of habitats of the climatic region known as the Pacific Dry. The beaches of Nancite and Naranjo are of great scenic beauty and important areas for spawning of sea turtles as Lora and the leatherback. There are about ten habitats in Santa Rosa of Costa Rica, including deciduous forests, forests of oak, evergreen forests, mangrove swamps, coastal forests, forests of little trees, beach vegetation and grassland or savannah.

Savannas consist mainly of the Jaragua grass and scattered trees such as the oak, the nance, the chumico or raspaguacal, the cornizuelo and jicara. Deciduous forests contain some 240 species of trees and shrubs: the Guanacaste that is the national tree, the Indian naked, oak savanna, the chaperno, El Jobo, the pochote, the madroño and Guácimo.

In the evergreen forest the dominant species with the nispero, the oak, and the Tempisque and the Aceituno. Wildlife is abundant and diverse. It has been observed 155 species of mammals; over half are bats, 253 birds, 100 amphibians and reptiles, and more than 10,000 insects, including some 3140 species of butterflies by day and night.

Among the mammals is easy to find the congo monkey, the white face monkey, the armadillo, the cheap, the tapir, the pizote, the zain, the puma, the jaguar and raccoons. The semi thorny mouse is the most abundant mammal of all.

Some of the most outstanding birds are the magpie, the parakeet orange front, the red widow, the soterrey matraquero, the cargahuesos, the Pavón, the crab hawk and Jumping tailed.

Tarpon and Snook is the name of the game in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. When time permits access to these amazing places of fishing the action is incredible. The Tarpon are everywhere on this coast either in rivers, river mouths, canals, near the beach or two miles from the coast, where in the exception of the last case you’ll also find lots of snook, jacks the ocasional pampano, barracudas, king and spanish mackerel, tunas and more.

Typically the fishing trips in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica are conducted in morning and afternoon sessions with a couple of hours back on shore for lunch when the fishing slows during the midday. The possibility to fish 8 to 10 Tarpon in a day is common and sometimes fishing days from 30 to 40 Tarpon usually happens. It can be difficult to comprehend the amount of Tarpon in the area until you see the large amount of fish jumping and feeding. Being distracted while casting by a fish jumping 2 feet away from the boat is a normal and is easy to have experiences that nobody is going to believe.

Fishing seasons in this side of the Costa Rica atlantic usually run from April to June and from August to October with rain dictating the specific dates. In this area is also easy to get Snook (Common, Atlantic, and Fat), Cubero Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Jewfish, Spanish Mackerel and Barracuda are other interesting species that inhabited the local inshore waters. There are diferent priced boats according to the size and complexity of their electronics packages and fishing gear, but usuarlly all day tours in a well maintained 24 to 28 footer 100 hp+ with beverages, snacks, crew and gear included in a hole day trip has a cost of between 800 to a 1,000 dolars.

Flamingo Beach in Costa Rica is located in the province of Guanacaste, in the canton of Santa Cruz just 36 kilometers from the city of Santa Cruz. Flamingo Beach is located at Punta Salinas, northwest of Bay Brasilito and 75 km southwest of the city of Liberia. Flamingo Beach is a place that is characterized by its white sand, the idyllic environment the beautiful resting houses near the beach. The hotels on this beach are first class, with excellent service and amenities, making it one of the recreation sites with more luxury and comfort in the country.

Flamingo in Costa Rica is often referred to by agents of real estate as the “Gold Coast” of Costa Rica. It is a very beautiful area and is home to some of the most luxurious holiday destinations in the country. The area is experiencing a small downturn after the cancelation of the development of a proposed marina but a recent development in tourist centers, golf courses and a regulatory plan to revive the marina has made property prices and the volume of tourism increasing.

Flamingo Sunstet in Costa Rica north pacific coast

Just a few miles from Flamingo is another important tourist destination, Playa Brasilito. At both ends of the area there are beautiful sandy beaches with clear waters. In the middle there are several luxury hotels, expensive restaurants and beautiful houses. Flamingo is a perfect beach to spend your vacations in a relaxing way. Flamingo has been developed for sport fishing and boat trips and also for being one of the most exclusive beaches of Costa Rica, proud of possessing the largest port in the country. It is characterized by being the Cancun of Costa Rica, because it has casinos, great Hotels, water sports and many others comforts.

Its white sand beaches are one of the top attractions in terms of beach holidays. Flamingo beach is ideal for an unforgettable vacation. It offers to the visitor one of the best deep sea fishing in the world. Away from the coast and throughout the year you can find marlin, tuna, swordfish and others, marking this beach as a very popular tourist destination for the lovers of this sport. Every year this beach is a fantastic host of international sailfish tournament sponsored by the Amateur Fishermen’s Club of Costa Rica. The best time to come is from December to April, when the beaches are bathed in sunshine and the average temperature is around the 27.7 degrees Centigrade. From Flamingo is possible to access the famous national parks of Santa Rosa and Palo Verde which have abundant plant and animal life. The Santa Rosa National Park takes care of one of the most important historical sites of Costa Rica, the Casona de Santa Rosa.

Esterillos West is located south of Hermosa Beach in Costa Rica, these two beaches are divided by Punta Judas. Esterillos West cannot be seen from the road. You must be attentive so that you are not passing the entrance to this beach. This beach, with 7 kilometers long, is ideal for hiking or running. The waves are not as fast and vertical as in Playa Hermosa which makes them ideal for long boards for surfing.

Many surfers who live in Jaco, prefer to surf farther south, in these two beaches. However, not only surfers visit this beach. Especially on weekends, the Costa Rican families attending to the area to spend a few days relaxing. It is one of the places in Costa Rica where the national tourism exceeds the number in foreign tourism.

The swimmers should be careful with the flow and be informed with local residents about possible dangers. The northern part of this beach is a steep section full of rocks. There is a statue of a mermaid sitting on the rocks.

According to the surfers, this place for surf is called “La Sirena” with slow waves that break to the right that are great for surfers with long surf board. Here the best surfing is in the morning. When the tide is high, the waves can break on a rocky background. Located more to the left of this site, the bottom is sandy and is also a good place to surf.

In the northern part of the beach are formed “pools” between the rocks. Due to the change of tide at low tide you can see many fossils in the rocks.

Costa Rica ’s national monumet Guayabo is one of the most important archaeological sites in Costa Rica, located in the lower lands of the Turrialba Volcano in Cartago, just off the east part of the central valley of Costa Ruca. It is part of the culture lost to a population that lived in Central America and the Caribbean Basin. Some of the elements, especially in architecture have come from South America and other features seem to derive from North American cultures, as the area where it is Costa Rica has served for thousands of years as a natural bridge between two continents previously separated. Has a size of 218 hectares and is located 84 kilometers from San Jose.

The architectural importance of Guayabo National park in Costa Rica has been known since the fourteenth century, when several expeditions in the region that made incredible discoveries, developing one of the earliest archaeological exhibitions of Costa Rica, which has been exhibited in the Museum of American History in Madrid (1982).

Secondary vegetation grows freely in this area, close to major archaeological sites. Most species of flora in this area are the result of years of logging and replanting new species. The wildlife is poor due to the small size of the monument; however it is possible to identify several types of birds, insects and reptiles.

Cartago is one of the seven provinces of Costa Rica. It was found embedded in the Central Valley of the country, without access to the coast, bordered to the north and east to Limon and west and south by San Jose. Its capital city, Cartago was until 1823 the capital of Costa Rica, during the colonial period and the beginning of the republic.

Cartago is the second smallest province in the country, but it is also one of the richest in the colonial tradition, it was the capital of Costa Rica until 1823 as mentioned , when the designation of the capital was changed ro the city of San Jose. It is characterized by a humid tropical climate, with temperatures averaging between 12 and 20 Celsius degrees

Its mountainous terrain is formed by two mountain ranges: the Central, home of the Irazu volcano ( the highest in the country), and the Turrialba Volcano, and the Cordillera de Talamanca, which highlights the highest peak in Costa Rica, the Chirripo with 3819 meters above sea level.
Before the arrival of the Spaniards to the territory, the Indians Huetar lived in this area. In 1563 Juan Vasquez de Coronado transferred the town of Castillo de Garcimuñoz to Valle del Guarco, using for that purpose, the name of Santiago de Cartago. But later the governor Pedro Afán de Ribera y Gómez moved the city to the western sector of the Central Valley, and in 1574 Alonso Anguciana Gamboa establishes Cartago in its current location.

However, because the city is the most affected by earthquakes, caused especially by the Irazu Volcano, it was destroyed in 1656, 1718, 1756, 1822, 1841, and in 1910 during its reconstruction. In fact in the last two earthquakes, the 1841 and 1910 the city was about to be destroyed completely. For this fact is that there are no buildings older than 70 years in the area.

One of the most famous celebrations in the province of Cartago is the pilgrimage to the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles, which takes place on the eve of August 2 each year. According to legend, the image of the Virgin appeared to Juan Pereira, an Indian from the area, in 1635, several times, so it was decided to build a memorial temple in the same place.

There are also several interesting places in the city of Carthage, capital of the province, such as the Ruins of the old parish church dedicated to Santiago the Apostle, which was significantly damaged by the earthquake of Santa Monica, on May 4, 1910. It is located in the city center surrounded by a beautiful and interesting park. The people of Cartago are working hard to declare 100 blocks of the hull of the central city as a historical center, seeking to maintain the local identity, because right now most cities in the greater metropolitan area of Costa Rica have lost their identity by demolishing their old structures and building some unfortunate buildings. In the province of Cartago are located the interesting towns of Paraiso, Tres Rios, Turrialba and Pacaya. You can learn more about indigenous cultures by visiting the Guayabo National Monument, north of the city of Turrialba, that is one of the most important and larger archaeological areas that have been discovered in Costa Rica. This place is dedicated to protect archaeological structures such as roads, mounds, bridges, and water catchment tanks among others.

The Pacuare and Reventazón Rivers (ideals for lovers of rafting), Irazu and Turrialba Volcanoes and the Laguna del Cachi, are very good samples of what nature offers to those who visit Cartago. Both, the Irazu volcano as the Turrialba Volcano are inactive and are surrounded by beautiful forests and lakes that can be visited throughout the year. Both areas are an extremely important tourist attraction for both local and international tourism.