There are currently 30 National Parks of Costa Rica, which are managed under the umbrella of

SINAC National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC, es, Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación) is part of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) of Costa Rica. It is the administrator for the nation's national parks, conservation areas, a ...

(Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservacion), a department of Costa Rica's Ministry of Environment and Energy ( MINAE). All told, Costa Rica's protected areas encompass more than 25% of the country's total land area. Many of these protected areas are national parks. Costa Rica's progressive policies on environmental protection and sustainable

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

in the National Parks System have been lauded as a model for other countries. The rainforests, tropical forests, marine areas and wetlands of Costa Rica are the subject of many university and scientific organization studies. The enrichment of the world's knowledge of these important habitats is an invaluable contribution from the National Parks System of Costa Rica. The Cordillera de Talamanca is home to an impressive collection of national parks and other preserved areas, including the

La Amistad International Park The La Amistad International Park, or in Spanish , formerly the La Amistad National Park, is a Transboundary Protected Area in Latin America, management of which is shared between Costa Rica ( Caribbean La Amistad and Pacific La Amistad Conservat ...

, which extends into

Panamá Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. On the southern

Osa Peninsula The Osa Peninsula ( es, Península de Osa) is a peninsula located in southwestern Costa Rica, in the Puntarenas Province, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Golfo Dulce to the east. The peninsula was formed geologically by a faulting sy ...

is the internationally renowned Corcovado National Park, which preserves a remnant of sizeable lowland tropical rainforest that is unique in the world. Manuel Antonio National Park was listed by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

in 2011 among the world's 12 most beautiful national parks. The Camino de Costa Rica is a 280 km long hiking trail across Costa Rica. It runs from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

(Caribbean coast), the southernmost part of the Tortuguero Canals, up the mountain and through indigenous territory near the Barbilla National Park and through valleys and mountain ranges of the central region of the country, just south of the Turrialba and Irazu Volcanos and through the Los Santos coffee region down to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coast in Quepos.

List of National Parks of Costa Rica

Arenal Volcano National Park Arenal Volcano National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal) is a Costa Rican national park in the central part of the country, part of the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area. The park encompasses the Arenal Volcano, the most active in t ...

* Barbilla National Park *

Barra Honda National Park Barra Honda National Park is a national park in the western part of Costa Rica, which forms part of the Tempisque Conservation Area about from the Tempisque River. It was created in 1974 to protect its famous cave systems, under the Barra Honda ...

Ballena Marine National Park Ballena Marine National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Marino Ballena), is a National Park of Costa Rica, part of the Osa Conservation Area created as a safe area for humpback whale migration, hence its name, as is the Spanish word for whale. The na ...

* Braulio Carrillo National Park * Cahuita National Park *

Carara National Park Carara National Park is a national park in the Central Pacific Conservation Area located near the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It was established on 27 April 1978 as a biological reserve, but its growing popularity after 1990 forced the government ...

Chirripó National Park Chirripó National Park is a national park of Costa Rica, encompassing parts of three provinces: San José, Limón and Cartago. It was established in 1975. It is named for its most prominent feature, Cerro Chirripó, which at is the highest ...

* Cocos Island National Park * Corcovado National Park * Diriá National Park * Guanacaste National Park *

Irazú Volcano National Park Irazú Volcano National Park, or in Spanish the , is a National Park in the Central Conservation Area of Costa Rica that encompasses the area around the Irazú Volcano in Cartago Province which incorporates what used to be the Ruben Torres Rojas ...

* Juan Castro Blanco National Park *

* La Cangreja National Park *

Las Baulas National Marine Park Las Baulas de Guanacaste Marine National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas de Guanacaste) is a National Park of Costa Rica and a Ramsar Site. The park is managed by the Tempisque Conservation Area, and covers approximately a marine ar ...

Los Quetzales National Park Los Quetzales National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Los Quetzales), located 97 kilometers from San Isidro de El General, Costa Rica, it was created in 2006 by decree 32981-MINAE. It is managed under the Central Conservation Area of the National Sys ...

* Manuel Antonio National Park *

Miravalles Jorge Manuel Dengo National Park Miravalles Jorge Manuel Dengo National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Miravalles Jorge Manuel Dengo), is a national park and nature reserve in the northwest part of Costa Rica, which forms part of the Arenal Tempisque Conservation Area. The site cont ...

Palo Verde National Park Palo Verde National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Palo Verde), is a national park of Costa Rica, part of the Arenal Tempisque Conservation Area, that contains much of the area of the valley of the Tempisque River and covers an area of 45,492 acres i ...

* Piedras Blancas National Park * Poás Volcano National Park * Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park *

Santa Rosa National Park Santa Rosa National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Santa Rosa), is a national park, in Guanacaste Province, northwestern Costa Rica, it was created in 1966 by decree 3694. Geography The main entrance of Santa Rosa National Park is north of Liberia ...

* San Lucas Island National Park *

Tapantí National Park Tapantí - Cerro de la Muerte Massif National Park, ( es, Parque Nacional Tapantí - Macizo Cerro de la Muerte), is a National Park in the Central Conservation Area of Costa Rica located on the edge of the Talamanca Range, near Cartago. It prote ...

Tenorio Volcano National Park Tenorio Volcano National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio) is a National Park in the northern part of Costa Rica, which forms part of the Arenal Tempisque Conservation Area. The jewel of the National Park is the Tenorio Volcano, from whi ...

Tortuguero National Park Tortuguero National Park is a national park in the Limón Province of Costa Rica. It is situated within the Tortuguero Conservation Area of the northeastern part of the country. Despite its remote location, reachable only by airplane or boat, it ...

* Turrialba Volcano National Park

References

*Franke, Joseph (1993). "Costa Rica's National Parks and Preserves".

External links

SINAC official site

Costa Rica National Parks (English)

Map and Introduction of Costa Rica National Parks

''National Parks of Costa Rica''
(audio-visual) {{Costa Rica topics Costa Rica

National parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

List of National Parks of Costa Rica

See also

References

External links