President Luis Guillermo Solis declared “El Camino de Costa Rica” (The trail of Costa Rica), a trail that will allow hikers to traverse the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast, a project of public interest.

Through an Executive Decree published earlier this year, the President highlighted the importance of supporting this initiative, which promotes a unique outdoor experience that will not only take national and foreign tourists through wonderful landscapes but will also allow them to get close to rural communities, their culture and gastronomy.

President Solis, the first lady Mercedes Peña, and representatives of the Costa Rica Tourism Board and the Ministry of Environment took part in an event were they learned about the local flora and fauna as well as delicious indigenous gastronomy.

“This is a genuine effort of collaboration between communities, the private sector and public institutions. It represents the Costa Rican spirit of extending our hand out to each other. It goes along with what we have promoted in this administration “sustainability with the people”, that the communities feel that the investment of the country in protected areas and the environment topics can generate value for them”, commented the President, who continued “This type of tourism, fits perfectly with what the country wants, a tourism offer that will extend the stay of the visitors so they can interact and learn from our people and generates an impact in different parts of the territory and not just specific areas”.

“El Camino de Costa Rica” is an initiative of Costa Rican nonprofit group, Asociación Mar a Mar (The Sea to Sea Association). Mar a Mar is made up of 23 partners, including business leaders, tourism operators, local leaders and hikers, and was established as a nonprofit association in Costa Rica in November 2016.

The 280-kilometer (174 miles) trail takes close to two weeks to be completed, it starts out at Barra de Parismina in the Caribbean and finishes in Quepos in the Pacific.

“El Camino de Costa Rica goes on public roads as well as through indigenous lands. Of the 15 towns where hikers would sleep, all but 5 already have capacity for at least 20 tourists,” say the trail organizers who have led visitors on seven of the trail’s 15 sections on day hikes over the past year and saw the first hiker complete the entire trail in February.