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Explore 83 protected areas in Costa Rica, rated across 10 categories

Located on the Caribbean slopes of the Tilarán mountain range near San Ramón, this biological reserve is one of the largest in Costa Rica. It protects primary montane rainforest, is a research hub man

Alberto Manuel Brenes

Dominated by the iconic Arenal Volcano, this park protects rainforest, cloud forest, and the shores of Lake Arenal. Arenal was one of the world's most active volcanoes for decades and the park is a hu

Arenal Volcano

A small wildlife refuge on the northern Pacific coast protecting a quiet bay, beaches, mangroves, and dry tropical forest. Olive ridley and leatherback sea turtles nest on its beaches, and the waters 

Bahía Junquillal

A remote and rarely visited national park in the Talamanca foothills of Limón province, Barbilla protects primary lowland rainforest and serves as a biological corridor connecting the Caribbean coast 

Barbilla

The largest wildlife refuge in Costa Rica, Barra del Colorado covers extensive lowland rainforest, canals, lagoons, and the delta of the Río Colorado near the Nicaraguan border. It is famous as one of

Barra del Colorado

Costa Rica's only national park dedicated to cave exploration, Barra Honda protects a limestone plateau riddled with more than 40 caverns. The cave system features stalactites, stalagmites, and fossil

Barra Honda

Created in 2021 to mark Costa Rica's bicentennial, this new biological reserve in Coto Brus protects cloud forest contiguous with La Amistad International Park. It serves as a critical corridor and bu

Bicentennial Pájaro Campana

A tiny island at the mouth of the Gulf of Santa Elena near the Nicaraguan border, Bolaños Island is protected for its American oystercatcher nesting colony and as a stopover for migratory seabirds.

Bolaños Island

One of Costa Rica's largest and most accessible national parks, Braulio Carrillo covers a dramatic altitudinal range from tropical rainforest to cloud forest. The Zurquí and Barva volcanoes rise withi

Braulio Carrillo

The oldest protected area in Costa Rica and a model for the national park system, Cabo Blanco was established by Danish conservationists Karen and Olof Wessberg. Located at the southern tip of the Nic

Cabo Blanco

Costa Rica's first Caribbean national park, Cahuita protects one of the country's most important coral reefs and contiguous coastal rainforest. Sea turtles nest on its beaches, and the reef shelters p

Cahuita

A protected beach and surrounding dry forest on the Nicoya Peninsula, Camaronal Wildlife Refuge is an important nesting site for olive ridley sea turtles that arrive in mass arrivals called "arribadas

Camaronal

A small oceanic island 16 km off the Osa Peninsula, Caño Island Biological Reserve is revered for its exceptional diving. The underwater seamounts and coral gardens shelter schooling hammerhead sharks

Caño Island

A Ramsar-listed wetland in the northern lowlands near the Nicaraguan border, Caño Negro is one of the most important freshwater wetland refuges in Central America. Its lagoons host spectacular concent

Caño Negro

Positioned at the ecological boundary between the dry Pacific north and the humid Pacific south, Carara National Park is world-famous for its enormous population of scarlet macaws. The park preserves 

Carara

A vast Ramsar-listed wetland complex on the northeastern Caribbean coast adjacent to Tortuguero National Park. The wetland encompasses a mosaic of palm swamps, freshwater lagoons, and flooded forests 

Caribe Noreste

A highland biological reserve in the Cerro de la Muerte region protecting cloud forest and páramo habitat. It is one of the most important sites for the resplendent quetzal in Costa Rica and serves as

Cerro Las Vueltas

A protected zone in the Pacific slope protecting tropical moist forest and critical watershed areas.

Cerro Nara

A protected zone in the hills south of San José, protecting premontane forests and serving as a critical water source for the capital city.

Cerros de Escazú

Home to Cerro Chirripó (3,821 m), the highest peak in Costa Rica and all of Central America, this park encompasses páramo moorland, cloud forests, and glacial lakes. It is part of the La Amistad Biosp

Chirripó

A wildlife refuge protecting tropical forest, wetlands, and mangroves along the banks of the Tempisque River near its confluence with the Bebedero River. The refuge provides critical breeding habitat 

Cipancí

A remote UNESCO World Heritage oceanic island 550 km off the Pacific coast, Cocos Island is considered one of the world's finest dive sites. Its waters shelter whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, manta r

Cocos Island

Described by National Geographic as "the most biologically intense place on Earth," Corcovado is Costa Rica's premier wilderness. Located on the Osa Peninsula, it protects the largest expanse of lowla

Corcovado

A forest reserve encircling the active volcanoes of the Central Volcanic Range including Poás, Barva, Irazú, and Turrialba. It provides critical water recharge for the densely populated Central Valley

Cordillera Volcánica Central

A nationally designated wetland in the lower Tempisque River basin of Guanacaste, protecting seasonal marshes and floodplains. The wetland provides critical habitat for migratory and resident waterbir

Corral de Piedra

A wildlife refuge running as a narrow 2-kilometre-wide strip along Costa Rica's entire northern border with Nicaragua, spanning from the Pacific coast through the central lowlands to the Caribbean. It

Corredor Fronterizo

Originally a forest wildlife refuge established in 1991, Diriá was upgraded to national park status in 2004. It protects premontane and tropical dry forests in the hills south of Santa Cruz on the Nic

Diriá

A protected zone near Ciudad Colón protecting tropical dry forest and transitional forest ecosystems west of San José.

El Rodeo

A state-owned wildlife refuge in the southern Pacific region protecting tropical wet forest and mangrove ecosystems.

Fernando Castro Cervantes

Protecting the remote Caribbean southern coast, Gandoca-Manzanillo is a mixed wildlife refuge combining tropical rainforest, coral reefs, manatee lagoons, and turtle nesting beaches. The village of Ma

Gandoca-Manzanillo

A wildlife refuge covering the hills behind the town of Golfito on the Golfo Dulce, protecting primary and secondary rainforest that supplies Golfito's drinking water. The refuge is home to toucans, m

Golfito

One of Costa Rica's largest forest reserves, Golfo Dulce protects extensive tracts of tropical rainforest on the Osa Peninsula's eastern slopes above the Golfo Dulce. It serves as a buffer zone for Co

Golfo Dulce

A small forest reserve near the city of Grecia in Alajuela province protecting a remnant patch of cloud forest on the lower flanks of the Cordillera Volcánica Central. It is an important green lung an

Grecia

A UNESCO World Heritage Site adjoining Santa Rosa, Guanacaste National Park protects dry tropical forest and volcanic slopes of Cacao and Orosi volcanoes. The park is part of the larger Guanacaste Con

Guanacaste

The most important pre-Columbian archaeological site in Costa Rica, Guayabo National Monument preserves the remains of an ancient city inhabited from 500 BC to AD 1400. Excavations have revealed stone

Guayabo

One of the wettest places in Costa Rica, Hitoy Cerere Biological Reserve in the Talamanca foothills receives over 4,000 mm of rainfall annually. The primary rainforest harbours tapirs, ocelots, and an

Hitoy Cerere

A small wildlife refuge on the Nacascolo Peninsula in the Gulf of Papagayo, protecting coastal mangroves and dry forest around the Quebrada Grande. Despite its small size, the refuge supports diverse 

Iguanita

Costa Rica's highest active volcano at 3,432 m, Irazú last erupted between 1963–1965. The park's main crater contains a distinctive emerald-green lake and is one of the most accessible active volcanic

Irazú Volcano

The largest seabird nesting colony in Costa Rica, Isla Guayabo supports tens of thousands of brown pelicans, frigatebirds, and other seabirds. The island is part of a cluster of biological reserves in

Isla Guayabo

A tiny island of only 4 hectares in the Gulf of Nicoya, Isla Pájaros is protected as a biological reserve for its dense seabird nesting colonies. Brown boobies, frigate birds, and pelicans nest here i

Isla Pájaros

Costa Rica's 30th national park, designated in August 2020. This island in the Gulf of Nicoya was formerly the site of a notorious prison that operated from 1873 to 1991. The island protects tropical 

Isla San Lucas

Protecting the headwaters of five major rivers that supply water to nearly one million people in the Central Valley, Juan Castro Blanco is a critical water resource park. The cloud forests and páramo 

Juan Castro Blanco

Costa Rica's largest protected area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, La Amistad spans the Talamanca Mountain Range across the border with Panama. It protects extraordinary altitudinal diversity from 

La Amistad International

A small but ecologically rich national park in Puriscal canton, La Cangreja protects transitional dry-humid forest featuring unique granite rock formations, waterfalls, and the scenic Río Negro canyon

La Cangreja

A protected zone in the Central Valley east of San José, protecting cloud forest habitat and serving as an important biological corridor.

La Carpintera

A lacustrine wetland in the Caribbean lowlands protecting important freshwater lake and marsh ecosystems.

Lacustrino Bonilla-Bonillita

A wildlife refuge in the Turrialba region of Cartago province protecting premontane tropical wet forest on the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera Volcánica Central. The refuge harbours diverse birdlife

La Marta

Established to protect the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle, Las Baulas encompasses the nesting beaches of Playa Grande, Playa Langosta, and Playa Ventanas. The marine zone extends 3 km of

Las Baulas

A protected zone buffer adjacent to La Amistad International Park in the southern Talamanca mountains, Las Tablas protects transition forest and is an important corridor between the international park

Las Tablas

A small mixed wildlife refuge in the southern zone near the border with Panama, protecting tropical forest and watercourses in the Coto Brus region adjacent to La Amistad International Park.

Limoncito

Best Parks in Costa Rica

The smallest and most visited national park in Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio combines pristine white-sand beaches with dense coastal rainforest. Four species of monkeys, sloths, iguanas, and colourful tr

Named for an active complex volcano with nine craters, Rincón de la Vieja National Park features an otherworldly volcanic landscape of boiling mud pots, fumaroles, hot springs, and waterfalls. The par

Famous for the brilliant turquoise Río Celeste river, whose extraordinary colour results from a chemical reaction between volcanic minerals and hot spring water, Tenorio Volcano National Park protects

One of the most important olive ridley sea turtle nesting sites in the world, Ostional hosts some of the largest "arribadas" on Earth with up to 500,000 turtles nesting in a single event. The refuge i

National Parks in Costa Rica

Top 10 Parks in Costa Rica

Cocos Island

Corcovado

La Amistad International

Manuel Antonio

Arenal Volcano

Chirripó

Ostional

Poás Volcano

Rincón de la Vieja

Tenorio Volcano

Top Parks by Category

Top 10 Parks for Uniqueness in Costa Rica

Cocos Island

Corcovado

Ostional

La Amistad International

Tenorio Volcano

Chirripó

Poás Volcano

Tortuguero

Rincón de la Vieja

Arenal Volcano

All Parks (83)

Cocos Island

Corcovado

La Amistad International

Manuel Antonio

Arenal Volcano

Chirripó

Rincón de la Vieja

Tenorio Volcano

Ostional

All Parks A–Z

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