Little Switzerland in Central American - Exploring the Green Kingdom of Costa Rica

4. Poás Volcano

Poas Volcano is located in the northwestern part of the central valley of Costa Rica, 57 kilometers away from San Jose. The volcano first erupted in 1910 and intermittently erupted several times in 1952-1954.

There are two lakes in the crater with a diameter of 1,600 meters at the top of the volcano. The lake above is clear and translucent, surrounded by various green plants. The lake below contains a large amount of igneous rock material with high acid content.

Due to the activity of the volcano, bursts of white gas were ejected from the lake, making a huge boiling sound, and then a huge water column of more than 100 meters high was set off to form the largest geyser in the world.

5. Irazú Volcano

The Irazu volcano is located in central Costa Rica, about 60 kilometers east of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, at an altitude of 3,432 meters. The crater is 1,050 meters in diameter and 300 meters deep. There is a pool of turquoise water at the bottom and smoky top. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Costa Rica. Irazu Volcano is the highest of Costa Rica's seven volcanoes and the highest peak of the Central Mountain Range. Standing on the mountain, you can overlook the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean.

Irazu Volcano is an intermittent volcano, mainly composed of basalt and andesite. There were eruptions in 1841, 1920, and 1963. The last eruption was in 1978, leaving three craters.

Costa Rica is known as the "Garden of Central America", and Irazu Volcano is the garden in this garden. It attracts tourists from all over the world with its unique natural scenery and volcanic wonders.

6. La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park

La Paz Waterfall Park in Costa Rica is a place full of green nature. Starting from the capital San Jose, about 100 kilometers, you can reach La Paz Waterfall Park. The park is hidden among the mountains, and there is a trekking path that connects multiple waterfalls in the mountains.

In addition to enjoying the most special waterfall landscape in the garden, there are also a variety of South American endemic species clusters, just like a small zoo.

There is a small animal conservation station here. While saving injured animals, it can also show tourists the local species diversity of Costa Rica. Costa Rica is the first country in the world to cancel all zoos. Once the animals recover, they will be released into the wild. Therefore, it has become a great place to learn about Costa Rica's animals.

This nursery station is more like an interactive zoo. The park gives visitors a high degree of freedom to interact with animals, and there are staff everywhere to explain the habits of animals patiently. Except for some aggressive animals, there is no barrier between most animals and tourists. But everyone also consciously keeps their distance and try not to affect their lives.

There are some animals hidden in the jungle, but here you can observe the jaguar, mountain lion, white-throated capuchin monkey, black palm spider monkey, brown-throated sloth and so on up close.

Here you can also observe the beautiful butterflies of Central America such as Helen Morpho, Sleeve Butterfly, and the rare black owl ring butterfly, which is one of the largest butterflies in the world.

7. Manuel Antonio National Park

Manuel Antonio National Park is hidden deep on a peninsula on the Pacific coast, covering an area of only 682 hectares. There are beautiful white sand beaches, coral reefs and rain forests in the park, and many foreign tourists come here for their holidays.

This tropical jungle bordering the coast is the smallest (only 7 square kilometers) and most popular national park in Costa Rica. Not only is it close to the beach, there are also many wild animals living here for a long time. The most famous of these are the sloth and the white-faced capuchin monkey.

There are also many reptiles in the park that cannot be named.

After coming out of the animal world, he suddenly became enlightened, and it was another boundless ocean. You can lie lazily on the white sand beach and soak up the sun.

8. Tortuguero

This Caribbean seaside town named Tortuguero is located in the largest tropical rain forest national nature reserve in Central America in the northeast of Costa Rica. Tortuguero is both the Caribbean coast and the Costa Rican version of the Amazon rainforest.

In the huge nature reserve is a series of criss-crossing rivers and canals. In order to protect the ecological environment of the tropical rainforest, the construction of roads is refused here, and only boats can be used to cross the winding rivers in the dense tropical rain forest, just like boating in the dense Amazon virgin tropical rain forest.

The biggest attraction here is the large number of sea turtles nesting along the coast. During the breeding season, you can see groups of huge green turtles laying eggs on the beach; then watching the baby turtles hatch and head towards the sea. Tortuguero also got its name.

The small town of Tortuguero is a quiet place, no cars, no horns, no smoke, only the impact of the waves and the sounds of birds. There is a pristine tropical rain forest beside the town. One side of the rainforest is a canal, and the other is a beach. Layers of waves of the Caribbean Sea crashed on the beach.

This is a good place for leisure and vacation. You can walk in the tropical rainforest, swim in the Caribbean Sea, travel in a canoe, and explore the depths of the rainforest along the narrow and curved river.

Parque Nacional de Tortuguero/Tortuguero National Park：

Parque Nacional de Tortuguero is located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and is famous for its nesting and spawning protection sites for sea turtles. From June to October every year, turtles like giant leatherback turtles, loggerhead turtles and hawksbill turtles come to Tortuguero Turtle Island to lay their eggs.

Tortuguero National Park has abundant rainfall, with an average annual rainfall of between 5,000 and 6,000 mm, making it one of the wettest areas in Costa Rica. And it has 11 ecological habitats, from tall and dense primitive tropical rainforests to large herbaceous swamp wetlands, a narrow lagoon connected to the Caribbean Sea, a long beach, and many streams and rivers that originate from the Central Mountains. A winding river dense like a cobweb.

The reserve protects 18,946 hectares of wildlife habitat, including more than 30 kilometers of sea turtle spawning coastline. There are various wild animals in the reserve, including jaguars, macaws, tapirs, more than 300 species of birds, amphibians, reptiles and other mammals. Many manatees also consider Tortuguero their home.

9. Doka Coffee Estate

The specialty you must bring at the end of the tour is Costa Rican coffee! Costa Rica is rich in the world's top coffee, even the cheap coffee here is very rich and full-bodied.

At the same time, coffee is Costa Rica's largest economic pillar. Therefore, there are many coffee estates and production bases, and tourists can also visit the coffee estates.

At the Doka Estate coffee estate near Poas, visitors will have the honor to see how the oldest coffee workshop in the world uses water to process coffee. Those coffee beans waiting to be dried under the tropical sun, the various coffee varieties will surely make your eyes shine.

Tourists can also visit and taste organic coffee in person. When you leave this country, remember to take a few bags of coffee home. The most famous brand here is Britt. A bag of 350g coffee is about 10-12 US dollars. The price varies depending on the place of sale.

10. Corcovado National Park

Corcovado National Park is one of the largest lowland tropical rain forests in Central America, and it is also the best place for wildlife viewing in Costa Rica. The park covers an area of more than 163 square miles and covers nearly half of the Osa Peninsula, but it is still one of the most remote areas in Costa Rica. Colorado National Park is called "the strongest place on earth" by National Geographic, and is a valuable asset for researchers and nature lovers.

The driest months in Corcovado National Park are from December to April. The rainy season starts in May and lasts until the beginning of December. September and October generally see the most rain. Due to heavy rainfall, some huts on the Osa Peninsula were temporarily closed in October. During the entire year, the park averaged more than 25 feet of rainfall.

Corcovado National Park has more than 500 species of trees, 220 species of butterflies, and more bird species than all birds in North America combined. On the beach here, you can see scarlet macaws flying above their heads, pelicans rolling in the waves, long-nosed raccoons catching crabs, and monkeys roaring in the rainforest.

Here, travelers wearing a pair of sturdy rubber boots push themselves into the unknown world, and surprises will continue to appear before their eyes. The deeper you go into the jungle, the better treasures it will present to you. It is also the best place to watch wild animals. The pristine beaches and adventurous jungles are hidden on these seldom trampled trails, waiting for you to explore.

11. Southern Caribbean

Lazy seaside rest, thrilling surfing.

During the day, rest in a hammock, ride a bicycle to an uninhabited beach, hike to a waterfall-style swimming pool, visit remote aboriginal areas; at night, enjoy Caribbean-style cooking in an outdoor bar, swaying under the sea breeze Came to the Reggae Bar.

This area is an outpost for the unique combination of Africa and the Caribbean, Costa Rica and indigenous cultures, and a perfect base for jungle and ocean exploration.

Festival

Costa Rica has a strong sense of national pride, as can be seen from its many national celebrations and traditions. The annual pilgrimage to Cartago Basirica is attended by nearly two million people, but the craziest gathering was during the 2014 World Cup. After defeating Uruguay, Italy, Greece (and even losing to the Netherlands), the streets were full of enthusiastic fans.

The national horse-riding parade also attracted horse lovers from all over the country on the day after Christmas.

At the San Jose Art Festival, the streets are full of girls dancing Costa Rican folk dances. Their costumes are also very distinctive.

There is also a very interesting masquerade parade, which is so joyous!

Costa Rican cuisine

Like many Latin American countries, Costa Rican food usually contains rice and beans. Gallo Pinto is probably the most famous dish. It is a breakfast, with rice, beans, coriander, green pepper, onion, and a mouth-watering Lizano sauce, usually eaten with tortillas, eggs, white cheese, and sweet fried plantain.

Rice and beans are also available for lunch and dinner, but they are usually served with chicken, pork or beef. The dishes here are very simple, but they always have a magical taste.

Essential items

Mosquito repellent, afterbite ointment, sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, binoculars, trekking poles, raincoat, swimwear, hiking shoes/travel shoes.

Currency

Costa Rica uses colones. Banknotes currently circulating in Costa Rica come in denominations of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 y 50,000.

Regarding coins, the current structure is made of seven denominations: 500, 100, 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 colon. When these coins are placed one on top of each other, they make a geometrical figure looking like a cone, as the coins have proportional diameters.

The coins that make the cone have the distinctive coat of arms of Costa Rica in the obverse. In the reverse, the face value of the coin is highlighted.

The exchange rate to the US dollar is about 570:1. U.S. dollars are relatively circulated in Costa Rica and are suitable for all kinds of consumption. The locals like U.S. dollars to pay and will find your colones, so don't worry too much about payment.

It is always right to prepare some US dollars in advance, but it is a bit inappropriate to exchange them at the airport.

Write at the end

Costa Rica’s beaches won the "Blue Flag Award" from the European Association for Environmental Education. This shows that Costa Rica’s beaches are very environmentally friendly, with good water quality and beautiful surroundings. They are worth visiting.

Costa Rica is really like a paradise country, where you are far away from the hustle and bustle, allowing you to live a life of paradise, idle clouds and wild cranes. Traveling here must slow down, savor carefully, and slowly feel and sublimate the happiness and joy that this country can bring to you.

If you want to enjoy nature, away from the noisy time of one person, and you happen to like to come into contact with all kinds of wild animals, then this will be your paradise. Costa Rica, this is a country that makes happiness so simple.