The Nicoya Peninsula () is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

on 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 of

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. It is divided into two provinces: Guanacaste Province in the north, and the

Puntarenas Province Puntarenas () is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces ...

in the south. It is located at . It varies from 19 to wide and is approximately long, forming the largest peninsula in the country. It is known for its beaches and is a popular tourist destination. The main transport and commercial centre in the region is

Nicoya Nicoya is a district and head city of the Nicoya canton, in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica, located on the Nicoya Peninsula. It is one of the country's most important tourist zones; it serves as a transport hub to Guanacaste's beaches a ...

, one of the oldest settlements in Costa Rica. Ferries run between the town of Puntarenas on the mainland and the Nicoya Peninsula. There is an international airport in nearby

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...

and small domestic airstrips in Nosara, Carrillo,

Tamarindo Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. ...

and Tambor. The region was also featured in the book '' Blue Zones'', by Dan Buettner, which focused on the longevity found among Nicoya's residents.

Places of interest

Other notable settlements and places of interest in the area include (going roughly from north to south):

, Santa Cruz, Nosara,

Sámara Sámara is a district of the Nicoya canton, in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica. History Sámara was created on 26 November 1971 by Decreto Ejecutivo 2075-G. Segregated from Nicoya. Geography Sámara has an area of km2 and an elevat ...

, Naranjo,

Paquera Paquera is a district of the Puntarenas canton, in the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica. History During the colonial period the entire Nicoya peninsula was administratively part of the Partido de Nicoya (nowadays Guanacaste), it was at the ...

, Curu, Tambor, Montezuma, Santa Teresa, Mal Pais. The Ostional Wildlife Refuge is the second largest beach where the turtles come to nest. One of their biggest nesting years had over 500,000 females come ashore to nest in one season. This refuge works in with the Nancite beach at Santa Rosa National Park. These two protected areas are two of the most important areas for the nesting of Olive Ridley turtles (''Lepidochelys olivacea''). Two other common species of turtles that nest here are the leatherback turtles ''(Dermmochelys coriacea)'' and the Pacific green turtle ''(Chelonia mydas agassizii).'' The nesting generally occurs for three to five days.

Conservation

There are a number of nature reserves and wildlife refuges such as Cabo Blanco, Camaronal, Cueva Murciélago, Curú,

La Ceiba La Ceiba () is a municipality, the capital of the Honduran department of Atlántida and a port city on the northern coast of Honduras in Central America. It is located on the southern edge of the Caribbean, forming part of the south eastern bo ...

, Romelia and the Diriá National Park, as well as the projects on the islands of the adjacent

Gulf of Nicoya The Gulf of Nicoya ( es, Golfo de Nicoya) is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. It separates the Nicoya Peninsula from the mainland of Costa Rica, and encompasses a marine and coastal landscape of wetlands, rocky islands and cliffs. The first Spanish ...

Notable features

The Nicoya Peninsula is considered by Quest Network one of the Blue Zones in the world, where people commonly live active lives past the age of 100 years.

References

Peninsulas of Costa Rica Geography of Guanacaste Province Geography of Puntarenas Province Blue zones {{CostaRica-geo-stub

Places of interest

Conservation

Notable features

See also

References