Parks

Costa Rica PArks Ministry of Environment Plans to Create 8 Spaces Similar to Sabana Park

The Minister of Environment, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, announced that they have plans to turn 8 areas in different regions of Costa Rica into parks similar to La Sabana in San José, where people have open spaces for their recreation and leisure. The eight areas that are being considered are: La Carpintera in Cartago, an area in the Mountains of Escazú in San José; El Rodeo in Ciudad Colón, San J...

Costa Rica National Parks Internet 11 National Parks in Costa Rica Will have Free Internet Service

As part of the project “Connected Public Spaces” the Ministry of Science and Technology (MICITT), the Ministry of Environment(MINAE) and the Telecommunication Superintendence (SUTEL) signed an agreement to offer free internet connection in Costa Rican National Parks. “Considering that Wildlife Protected Areas in the country are visited daily by hundreds of national and foreign tourists and ar...

National Parks Costa Rica Authorities at National Parks in Costa Rica Urge Visitors to Abide the Rules and Warning Signs

Incidents are reported frequently of national and foreign tourists that choose to ignore the warning signs at the different national parks in Costa Rica and end up risking their lives and endangering the lives of members of the rescue teams. This time its the Guanacaste Conservation Area (ACG) that urge visitors to respect the rules established in each park, this because on April 10 a visitor ...

Europeans Arrested Orchids Costa Rica Four Europeans Detained in Costa Rica Suspects of Extracting Orchids from National Park

Four Europeans, 3 native from the Netherlands and 1 from Belgium were detained Friday by Costa Rican authorities as suspects of extracting endemic miniature orchids from the Juan Castro Blanco National Park, located in the province of Alajuela between the counties of San Carlos, Zarcero and Rio Cuarto. In total 246 plans were extracted by the foreigners with the purpose of taking them to Europe...

7 Months and Counting: Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano National Park Remains Closed

Despite a recent lessening in the intensity of its eruptions, scientists and emergency officials will keep restrictions in place on entry into the Poás Volcano National Park, much to the dismay of local tourist businesses who depend on the park to draw visitors. The park was the most frequently visited in the country, being within an hour's drive from San José and about a half-hour from the int...

Corcovado National Park on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula Partially Re-Opened

The Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica's southern Pacific Osa Peninsula partially re-opened yesterday, Wednesday, October 11, said conservation officials. Domestic and foreign tourists will be able to explore some areas of the park, said the National System Conservation Areas (SINAC) in a statement, due to highly saturated soils and fallen trees and debris on some paths. The La Lorena vis...

Costa Rican Architect Jose Manuel Pizarro Costa Rican Architect Continues to Break World Records, This Time With World’s Longest Slide

Costa Rican architect José Manuel Pizarro made the news earlier this year with the building of the world’s longest over-sea zipline cable in the world with 1,800 meter (5,905 ft.) long at 100 meters (328 ft.) high, reaching a speed of 120 kph (75 mph) named Xtasea and located in Acapulco, Mexico. Now, Pizarro and his company Linea Vertical are in charge of the project Emoción Intensa (Intense E...

Costa Rica Crocodile US Scientists Ponder Skewed Sex Ratio in Palo Verde, Costa Rica’s Crocodiles

Scientists in Tennessee identified something curious in Costa Rica’s crocodiles that has sent them on a global journey to understand the potential role of a synthetic hormone in changing the reptiles’ sex. A recent report in Science Magazine discussed the muddy crocodile sex-tracking forays of Chris Murray, physiological ecologist at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, and his res...

Police Team Up With Conservationists in Costa Rica’s National Parks

On Thursday, officials from the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) signed a cooperation agreement that will allow for police to operate out of  facilities inside the country's nature conservation areas, such as national park and wildlife refuges. This was confirmed by the Minister of Public Security, María Fullmen Salazar, who explained that pol...

Costa Rica’s $3M Investment in National Parks Will Upgrade Facilities, Entrances

This week the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) pledged US$3 million to upgrade the country's national parks, which will be invested over the next three years, said tourism officials. The first allocation of a million dollars will be for Tenorio Volcano National Park, which was affected by Hurricane Otto last November, and Manuel Antonio National Park, the country's most visited park. The ...

Costa Rica’s Tenorio National Park Temporarily Closed After Heavy Rain Damage

Heavy rains that fell during much of yesterday in Costa Rica's northern region caused damages to some of the infrastructure at Tenorio Volcano National Park, and forcing a temporary closure, said a report on Teletica, Costa Rica's Channel 7 television news station. The park was closed all of yesterday, Thursday, August 17, and rangers hoped to be able to reopen the park - even if only partially...

Costa Rica’s Stunning Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Is Now More Accessible

Costa Rica's national park system is about to get a major boost with the inauguration of top notch new facilities in a northern lowland protected area teeming with biodiversity. A visitor's center and a series of accessible walkways spanning parts of the wetlands and seasonal lakes at Costa Rica's spectacular Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge will be inaugurated Friday, August 4, reported the National...

Costa Rican Park Authorities Close Clandestine Trails Near Arenal Volcano

Three tour operators have been ordered to stop offering walks and tours in areas of the Arenal Volcano National Park that are off limits, said the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) this week. Improvised trails that lead to the crater of Cerro Chato, the twin peak of Arenal Volcano, were closed with barbed wire by park rangers, due to informal tour operators using them for touris...

Golfo Dulce kayak tour in mangroves Costa Rica Works to Protect Threatened, and Biodiverse, Mangroves

Costa Rica is working to rehabilitate and protect mangroves, a coastal ecosystem that is highly threatened throughout the world, said Deputy Minister of Water, Seas, Coasts and Wetlands, Fernando Mora in an interview with the Spanish News Agency (EFE). Costa Rican environmental authorities stressed the importance of conserving mangroves in harmony with the well-being of communities bordering th...

Poás, Costa Rica Volcano Eruptions Wrecking Local Tourism-Based Economy

Businesses in the former agricultural towns near the frequently touristed volcano by the same name in Poás, Alajuela are reporting up to 70 percent decreases in sales over recent weeks since the volcano entered a new, eruptive phase. Tourism has become a mainstay of this national park and surrounding area due to its proximity to the main international airport and to San José - making it a popul...

One Day Tours Costa Rica One Day Tour in Costa Rica: TuruBaRi Nature and Adventure Park

If you are looking for options to spend a fun day in Costa Rica enjoying the outdoors TuruBaRi adventure park in Turrubares, Alajuela offers different activities for both kids and adults oriented towards adventure and ecotourism. TuruBaRi used to be land dedicated to farming and agricultural activities, the same was reforested in 1996, and over 80,000 trees have been planted. 236 hectares out o...

Spheres in Costa Rica Osa Peninsula to Hold Protest March During Costa Rican President’s Visit

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis will visit the southern Pacific region of Osa tomorrow, June 15, and local residents said they will hold a protest in "defense of the rights of nature and the right of future generations," reported local media today. The peaceful march will begin at 8:30 a.m. leaving the old South Pacific Lyceum and arriving at the Municipality of Osa. The motto of the...

Osa Peninsula Bridges to Aid Rural Residents, Tourism in Costa Rica’s South Pacific

The Solís government continues to work on delayed infrastructure projects throughout the country, and is moving forward with two bridges in the Drake area of the Osa Peninsula, the biodiversity hotspot in Costa Rica’s southern Pacific region and home to Corcovado National Park, said the president’s office this week. A program of the Office of the First Lady of the Republic called “Tejiendo Desa...

Tortuguero Park Partially Closed Due to Jaguar Presence on Beach

The southernmost end of Tortuguero beach, in the sector known as Jalova, is closed as of this week, by orders of Tortuguero Conservation Area officials due to the presence of a jaguar, something which has happened in the past. The Tortuguero Conservation Area provides habitat for jaguars (Panthera onca). Officials said they see no threat to tourists by the presence of the feline, but want to do...

Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano Stays Steamy, Turrialba a Little Ashy

The Poás Volcano near Alajuela has been sending up columns of water vapor over the past several days after becoming more active on May 13, making for some great photography, and not causing any problems for neighboring areas, reported the Volcanology and Seismology Observatory at the Costa Rican National University (Ovsicori-UNA). Meanwhile, further south along the Central Volcanic mountain cha...

Most Visited National Parks Costa Rica Top 5 Most Visited National Parks in Costa Rica

Costa Rica has a total of 28 National Parks and 72 areas that are either protected zones, biological reserves or wildlife refuges, covering over 26% of the total area of the country. Tourists both local and foreigners prefer coastal and mountain destinations, those that are conveniently located, are easily accessible and of course, those that have more attractions to offer. According to inform...

Two Even Bigger Blasts by Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano This Morning

Poás Volcano had its two biggest eruptions this morning in this recent phase of activity, said the Volcanology and Seismology Observatory at the Costa Rican National University (Ovsicori-UNA). A blast at 7:39 followed by a bigger one at 7:57 a.m. sent gases in both a westerly and easterly direction, and would possible be felt, or rather smelt, in the towns of Zarcero, Naranjo, San Ramón, Palmar...

CRx5 Challenge – Visiting these 5 National Parks in Costa Rica could earn you a cash prize

The Association Costa Rica por Siempre (Costa Rica forever) , the Ministry of Environment and The National System of Conservation Areas are promoting the visitation to five Costa Rican National Parks through the contest: CRx5 Challenge (Desafío CRx5). The five parks picked for this contest are: Palo Verde, Tortuguero, Tapantí-Cerro de la Muerte, Carara and Arenal Volcano. CRx5 Challenge enco...

Corcovado Gold Extraction Close to 300 people invaded Corcovado Park in Costa Rica to extract gold

Almost 300 people in trucks and buses illegally entered the Corcovado National Park in the Osa Peninsula, through “Los Patos” sector, with the purpose of extracting gold. Men and women of different age groups are part of the group that have already began installing tents and temporary houses inside the National Park and some outside near the Termo river mouth. Eduardo Carrillo, director of the...

Corcovado National Park Supreme Court orders to protect Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica

In response to a constitutional appeal (Recurso de Amparo) filed by the Costa Rican Conservation Federation and the Workers Union of the Ministry of Environment, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) ordered Costa Rican authorities to elaborate a plan to get rid of the invaders of the Corcovado National Park, who through logging, the extraction of gold, and hunting are causing ...

Upala Hospital Costa Rica continues investment to repair damages caused by Otto

The repair of damages in wildlife protected areas will be of over 4.5 million USD The Ministry of Energy and Environment, estimates that repairing the damages caused by hurricane Otto will have a cost of close to ¢2,437 million colones (almost 4.5 million USD). The intervention will focus in the Conservation Area of Tortuguero, North Arenal Huetar, Arenal Tempisque, Guanacaste and Osa. The i...

La Sabana Park’s Native Trees Are Singing in San José, Costa Rica

By Wendy Anders Starting in 2011, San José’s largest urban park, La Sabana, began to get a dramatic makeover. It has consisted in removing entire swaths of non-native trees and reforesting with native trees. Some 3,791 Costa Rican trees are now flourishing in many parts of the park, said Icoder after a recent project update. One of the hoped for results, was to attract new native animal s...

Nicolas Wessberg Costa Rica National Parks Who was Nicolas Wessberg and why is a Natural Reserve in Costa Rica named after him?

A small natural reserve in Montezuma of only 63 hectares honors the memory of Nicolas Wessberg, but only few know who he was or why this place is named after him. Olof Wessberg also known as Nicolas Wessberg was born in Germany but lived most of his life in Sweden; his wife, Karen Mogensen was from Denmark, they were married in 1952, the couple wanted to leave Sweden and Europe in general, due ...

Whale Festival Starts This Weekend in Costa Rica’s Bahia Ballena

By Wendy Anders During the upcoming two weekends, visitors can take part in whale and dolphin watching tours, as well as recreational and cultural activities, during the southern Pacific Bahía Ballena Marine Park's annual whale and dolphin festival. From Sept 2-4 and again from Sept 9-11 visitors can participate in activities such as foot races, cycling, family walks, a sand sculpture contes...

Police Release Hundreds of Hatchling Sea Turtles in Limón, CR

By Wendy Anders Police on duty in Limón on Costa Rica’s Atlantic coast may feel more like environmentalists than public safety workers lately. Since leatherback sea turtle eggs they have held in a protected area started hatching a few days ago, the officials have been busy getting the hatchlings to the beach in the evening and night hours for their entry into the sea, reported the Ministry o...

National Park Guards Have Requests Met by President

By Wendy Anders Yesterday, on National Parks Day, President Luis Guillermo Solís met with park guards on a visit to Tenorio Volcano National Park in the northern Guanacaste mountain range. Tenorio National Park is where Costa Rica's enchanting Río Celeste, or Blue River, is located. Park rangers had been threatening to close one or more national parks if their repeated requests for increa...

Brothers Growing Marijuana in La Amistad Internatl Park Arrested

By Wendy Anders MSP file photo Monday, the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) arrested seven more members of a marijuana cultivation and distribution network based in Costa Rica’s southern Perez Zeledón region, stated Walter Espinoza, OIJ Director, in a press conference yesterday. The operation was led by five brothers by the last names Vargas Hidalgo who 21 years ago almost to th...

Wildcat Guarded Body of Drowned U.S. Child in Costa Rica

Wikimedia Commons Red Cross volunteers searching for a drowned young tourist from the United States were led to discovery by a jaguarundi (eyra cat, similar to a mountain lion), which seemed to be guarding the deceased child. As reported by The Costa Rica Star earlier this week, a flash flood swept away three U.S. tourists swimming in the Blanco river in the Rincon de la Vieja (Old Woman's ...

Three U.S. Tourists Drown During Flash Flooding in Costa Rica

A river in Costa Rica Three tourists from the United States, including a little boy, were mortally caught in a flash river flood near Hacienda Guachipelín, one of the most luxurious and exclusive country resorts of Costa Rica. According to a news report recently filed by Manuel Estrada of daily tabloid Diario Extra, four relatives were enjoying a pristine swimming spot at the river located ...

New Documentary About U.S. Explorer Who Vanished in Costa Rica

Cody Dial On May 22nd, cable television network National Geographic will broadcast the premiere of Missing Dial, a documentary series on the disappearance of explorer Cody Roman Dial,  a college student from the United States who arrived in Costa Rica with adventure in his mind. Cody intended to hike across Corcovado National Park in our Southern Pacific region; he has been missing since Ju...

Happy Earth Day Costa Rica!

Rainforest in Costa Rica By Carol Blair Vaughn Friday, April 22nd, is Earth Day, an international celebration of education about environmental issues that began in the United States in 1970, marking the birth of the environmental movement. It is now celebrated by over 1 billion people worldwide, including here in Costa Rica, as a day of action in support of environmental protection of our p...

Flying in to Tortuguero, Costa Rica Megaflyover Will Measure Livestock Impact to Costa Rica Forest

New York (March 3, 2016)—With support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have embarked on an ambitious plane-based survey to gauge the influence of humans and their livestock on the largest remaining forests in Central America. Dubbed the “Central American Megaflyover,” the project is gathering detailed images of the largest five rem...

TripAdvisor Honors Costa Rica Family-Friendly Beach Hotel

Source: Tulemar Resort NEEDHAM, Mass., March 1, 2016 – TripAdvisor®, the travel planning and booking site, today announced its Travelers’ Choice™ awards for Family Hotels. Unlike any other hotel honors, TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice winners are based on millions of valuable reviews and opinions from travelers around the world. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into ...

New Smoke and Ash Eruption at Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica

Areli Arevalo Facebook On Saturday afternoon, geologists at the Observatory on Volcanology and Seismology at the National University of Costa Rica (Spanish acronym: OVSICORI) reported a new eruption at the Turrialba Volcano, the most active colossus in our country. The volcanic event took place about ten minutes before 2:00 pm during a warm, yet extremely windy, afternoon. The seismographic...

Lake Arenal Costa Rica Active and Romantic Vacations for Couples in Costa Rica

Source: News.co.,cr archives Berkeley, CA (PRWEB) January 26, 2016 - Does the couple who travel together, stay together? Backroads, the leading active travel company, sure thinks so. And a recent survey by the U.S. Travel Association backs up that theory: the study revealed that couples who travel together have better sex lives and more romance in their relationships than couples who stay home...