Corcovado Costa Rica
This is truly one of Costa Rica's most wild natural areas! The Corcovado National Park protects one of the world's most spectacular national wonders
- one of the last and largest remaining stands of coastal rainforest found
in all of Central America. Established in 1975, Corcovado, "hunchback" in
Spanish, has eight distinct distinct zones and a plethora of diverse flora
and fauna throughout. Covering nearly one third of the Oso Peninsula, the
park is covered with Central America's largest remaining lowland coastal
rain forest. The remoteness of Corcovado, coupled with the difficulty of
access to the interior of the park, make this one of the most pristine
national parks in Costa Rica. Established in 1975, the nearly 175 square
mile park consists of approximately 25 miles of beach front and over 100
miles of tropical wet forest. Nearly two hundred inches of rain falls here
every year, contributing to the beauty of the rain forest. The rainiest
months are October and November.
Corcovado enjoys its status as one of the most remote national parks in the
country- it takes at least a whole day to hike between any two ranger
stations within the park. Seventeen of the country's 38 endangered species
can be found within the park's borders. Corcovado has the largest
population of scarlet macaws in Costa Rica and is also the location of
several recent harpy eagle sightings- a bird assumed as extinct. The region
is also home to over 700 different species of trees, 10,000 insects, over
350 types of birds, and numerous different reptiles and amphibians. Poison
dart frogs and spider monkeys abound within the park- your chances of
spotting boa constrictors and wild cats- including jaguars and tapirs are
better here than nearly anywhere else in the country. The area is a Mecca
for hikers, bird and wildlife watching, see kayaking and deep sea fishing.
National Geographic refers to this area as "most biologically intense place
on the planet". Corcovado is a jewel in the exceptional Costa Rican
National Park system.
