Southern Costa Rica

By Patricia Earnest

Look at pictures of Costa Rica and you will see mountains draped with misty rain forests, exotic birds and butterflies and a dramatic coastline. Costa Rica is devoted to wildlife protection and the National System of Conservation Areas manages a wide variety of parks, refuges, reserves, and other protected areas. For these reasons and more, visitors are drawn here to enjoy the varied and beautiful environment and people.

Parks and Geography
Costa Rica's highest mountain, Cerro Chirripo at 12,606 feet in the Parque Nacional Chirripo, is located in the most southerly part of this area which is sparsely populated, being the last part of the country to be settled. It does contain the country's largest national parks though, such as Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula, the last remaining virgin rainforest in Central America, and Ballena National Marine Park, slightly further north up the Pacific coast near Palmar Norse.

Bugland
If you are interested in bugs, then go to the Lomas Barbudal Biological Reserve, also known as the "insect park." Home to about 300 species of bees and 60 species of moths, it also features forests and rivers, springs and many birds coming to feast on the bugs.

Abundant Outdoor Activities 
Some of the best surfing in Costa Rica is found in the South Central area, where one beach after the next serves up waves to thrill and delight the surfing aficionado.

There's also white water rafting , kayaking, diving, sports fishing and boat tours to lure those interested in water sports; while mountain biking, horseback riding, trekking, ballooning and cable car riding call the land- and air-bound.

Accommodations
For the most part, accommodations in Costa Rica are small, in fact 70 percent of all Costa Rican hotels have less than 50 rooms. However, visitors will find a wide range of accommodations to suit every taste. The larger chains, such as Melia are well represented, as are boutique hotels, B&B's, cozy mountain lodges and jungle lodges.

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