My First View of Costa Rica, courtesy David Thompson
Rainforest Canopy Bridge, Costa Rica
Hummingbird and Passion Flower, Costa Rica
Playa Dominical, South Pacific, Costa Rica, courtesy David Thompson
Playa Esterillos Este, Central Pacific, Costa Rica, courtesy David Thompson
Rainforest Stream, Costa Rica
Beach in Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
Rice Field in Quepos, Costa Rica, courtesy David Thompson
Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica

Biodiversity

Biodiversity - Costa Rican wildlife

From frigid mountain peaks to torrid rainforests, from lowland plains to sun-drenched beaches, Costa Rica boasts one of the world’s greatest scales of biodiversity. The vegetation - ranging from emerald forests to banana or pineapple plantations to rolling pasturelands, from dense jungles to cloud forests to arid tropical dry forests, wetlands and mangrove swamps - includes over a thousand endemic varieties of orchid and provides a wide array of habitats for an incredible diversity of fauna, many are endangered species protected by Costa Rica’s highly developed conservation systems. Among these rare creatures are the jaguar, ocelot and agouti (a large rodent). The rainforest also hosts the intriguing two and three toed sloths as well as four species of monkeys, while our seashores are the nesting grounds for several species of sea turtles, who return to nest on the same beaches year after year. Costa Rica also has some of the world’s most beautiful selection of butterflies, including the iridescent blue Morphos. It is also a birdwatcher’s paradise, with more than 845 identified species, including the magnificent Quetzal, three varieties of Toucans, and a rainbow of Parrots, Macaws, Hummingbirds and Sea Birds.

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