Costa Rica's Corcovado National Park - The Most Biological Place on Earth?

Situated off the southern Pacific coast of CostaYork City. Tiny. Even so, it is incredible. Described
Rica along the shores of the Osa Peninsula, almostas 'the most biologically intense place' on earth by
on the Panama border, you will find the ParqueNational Geographic, it is largely unspoiled and the
Nacional Corcovado (Corcovado National Park).single largest surviving rain forest situated on the
This is a unique protected habitat and is thePacific Coast from Mexico to South America. The
largest surviving forest on the Pacific Coast frommangroves and other biodiverse areas of
Mexico to South America. There are eightCorcovado protect an incredible array of plants
different habitats to be found in the 42,000and animals. There are 139 species of mammals,
hectares (100,000 acres) which form a tinyincluding the mighty jaguar, puma, ocelot, and
national park that remains for the most partthree other kinds of wild cats.
unspoiled. Though teeny, it is one-of-a-kind.On your Costa Rica vacation to Corcovado, you
Literally.will also find 400 different species of birds (the
Most tourists do not realize that Costa Rica gotentire continent of Europe has 1000 species and
its name from Christopher Columbus whothe continental U.S. has 900) living in an area less
explored the Americas in 1502. He sailed thethan half the size of New York City! The largest
Caribbean from Mexico south, landed south ofremaining Central America population of scarlet
what is now Limon, Costa Rica, and named hismacaws live here, along with 116 kinds of
discovery 'Costa Rica' or the 'rich coast'. We canamphibians and reptiles.
only imagine what he saw along the way.'Intense" is exactly right: 10% of all the different
Spectacular tropical forests covering Centralkinds of mammals in the whole of the Americas
America from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Watersare found here---in a park less than 1/20th the
teeming with fish, porpoises, and whales. So manysize of Yellowstone National Park. Rare frogs such
sea turtles that seafarers, lost in the fog, foundas the red-eyed tree frog, poison-arrow frog and
shore simply by listening to the sounds of tens ofthe enigmatic glass frog are all found here. And
thousands of animals paddling towards nestingthis park is one of only a handful of sites in Costa
beaches.Rica where you will find squirrel monkeys. At
Alas, the passage of five centuries has not beennight, fishing bats literally scoop fish from the
kind to either the forests or animals and todayrivers.
most of the primary forests from Mexico toThe seemingly deserted beaches of the park
South America have been cut down or burned.provide a nesting ground for four species of sea
Fortunately, Costa Rica had the good sense toturtle and because of the large tapir population
preserve Corcovado and its primary rainforest.jaguars and crocodiles also inhabit this area. They
About 75 years after Columbus landed on theprefer to hunt around the edges of the
Caribbean coast of Costa Rica an English seaCorcovado Lagoon and are often sighted. The
captain, Sir Frances Drake (you may recall that hefootprints of this large carnivorous cat are often
is the fellow who destroyed the Spanish Armadafound in the mud trails which surround the lagoon.
in 1588 and saved England from Spain), exploredThe forests of Corcovado are as impressive as
its Pacific coast and, indeed, landed in a lovely baythe rainforests of the Amazon, Indonesia, and
on the north end of the Osa Peninsula. FamousMalaysia. This area receives as much as 400 cm
for its gateway to the Osa and its fabulousor rain annually and torrential rains fall during the
sports fishing, you may have heard of it: DrakeApril to December months. If you plan to travel
Bay.Costa Rica and visit this gem, it is best to plan a
Corcovado is very tiny (not small, tiny), less thantrip to Corcovado in the dry months which are
160 square miles in size. That is about 20 milesJanuary to April.
long and 8 miles deep, about half the size of New