Hike and Photograph in Costa Rica Where Nature is Its Colorful Best!

Costa Rica is a paradise for nature enthusiasts and photographers, with abundant biodiversity across its twelve climatic zones and many different ecosystems from the Pacific Coast to the Caribbean. Easy to challenging walking itineraries can be designed any time of year and in any of the zones, offering exposure to many different species of plants, animals and birds found nowhere else in the world.

Though it amounts to just 0.003 of Earth’s landmass (about the size of West Virginia), Costa Rica contains some 500,000 species, nearly 4% of the total species estimated worldwide, making it one of the countries with the highest biodiversity in the world.

This reflects the variety of ecosystems within the country, including tropical rainforests, deciduous forests, Atlantic and Pacific coastline, cloud forests, and mangrove forests, covering twelve different climatic zones. Nearly a quarter of the country's land area is in national parks and protected areas, the largest percentage of protected areas in the world.  The country is also a stable democracy which promotes ecologically sound tourism and economic development. 

The different parks and protected areas around the country offer beaches, bird watching, rafting, hiking, volcano climbing, canopy tours, ziplining and much more, with a wide range of lodgings and guided and self-guided tour offerings from easy to challenging.  Each zone has its own optimum time to visit, and the most colorful and abundant displays of different plant and animal species happen at different times of year, so many itineraries can be designed whenever a group has time to spend here.

  • Suitable Activities: Day Hiking, Global Adventures, Photography, Naturalist
  • Seasons: Year-round
  • Weather: View weather forecast
  • Land Manager: Land Manager Varies
  • Parking Permit Required: see Land Manager
  • Recommended Party Size: 12
  • Maximum Party Size: 12
  • Maximum Route/Place Capacity: 12
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