Demonstrating an environmental sensitivity unparalleled elsewhere, Costa Ricans have set aside one quarter of their land as protected areas and national parks. Ecotourists are rewarded with botanical and animal marvels found nowhere else on Earth. Although Costa Rica is best known as an invaluable refuge for nature, this small nation is also a haven of peace.

Location, Geography, Climate

Costa Rica is the penultimate link in a chain of small nations that together comprise the isthmus of Central America. Along with the Caribbean and the Pacific, the country's borders are defined by Nicaragua to the North and Panama to the South. Located at the nexus of two continents and two oceans, this confluence of land and water makes the region one of mother nature's great bottlenecks. Here, geography constricts a breathtaking amount of plant and animal life within a modest 19,563 square miles (50,900 sq. km), an area comparable in size to Denmark or West Virginia. Within this diminutive nation is found an astonishing five percent of the world's biodiversity, including more than 800 species of ferns, 1,000 of orchids, 2,000 kinds of trees, and 200 species of mammals.

Both coastlines of Costa Rica have an abundance of beaches, though the Pacific strands are generally both less developed and less spacious. Between the coasts, the interior of the country is shaped by four cordilleras, or mountain ranges, which run from North to South. The capital, San Jose, rests roughly in the nation's center, settled within a highland valley. Cascading down to the Caribbean from the central mountains are Costa Rica's many great rivers, including the Reventazon. The Pacific side is marked by two broad peninsulas that hook out into the Pacific, the Nicoya and the Osa. It is a geographic curiosity that their shapes are almost identical, the Osa being a smaller rendition of the Nicoya.

Costa Rica's climate is renowned as an atmospheric treat. Mild subtropical conditions prevail year-round, and discomforting temperature extremes and prolonged periods of gray are practically nonexistent. Temperature varies mainly according to elevation, the higher the cooler. The brunt of the rainy season lasts from May through November, while a brief dry spell pays a visit from February to April. Costa Rica's rain falls mainly on the Caribbean coast, giving the Pacific a much more arid climate.

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The first European explorer to encounter Costa Rica was the Great Navigator himself, Christopher Columbus. The day was September 18, 1502, and Columbus was making his fourth and final voyage to the New World. As he was setting anchor off shore, a crowd of local Carib Indians paddled out in canoes and greeted his crew warmly. Later, the golden bands that the region's inhabitants wore in their noses and ears would inspire the Spaniard Gil Gonzalez Davila to name the country Costa Rica, or Rich Coast.

Archaeologists now know that civilization existed in Costa Rica for thousands of years before the arrival of Columbus, and evidence of human occupation in the region dates back 10,000 years. Among the cultural mysteries left behind by the area's pre-Columbian inhabitants are thousands of perfectly spherical granite bolas that have been found near the west coast. The sizes of these inimitable relics range from that of a baseball to that of a Volkswagen bus. Ruins of a large, ancient city complete with aqueducts were recently found east of San Jose, and some marvelously sophisticated gold and jade work was being wrought in the southwest as far back as 1,000 years ago. Some archeological sites in the central highlands and Nicoya peninsula have shown evidence of influence from the Mexican Olmec and Nahuatl civilizations.

By the time the Columbus arrived, there were four major indigenous tribes living in Costa Rica. The east coast was the realm of the Caribs, while the Borucas, Chibchas, and Diquis resided in the southwest. Only a few hundred thousand strong to begin with, none of these peoples lasted long after the dawn of Spanish colonialism. Some fled, while many others perished from the deadly smallpox brought by the Spaniards. Having decimated the indigenous labor force, the Spanish followed a common policy and brought in African slaves to work the land. Seventy thousand of their descendants live in Costa Rica today, and the country is known for good relations among races. Regrettably, only 1 percent of Costa's Rica's 3 million people are of indigenous heritage. An overwhelming 98 percent of the country is white, and those of Spanish descent call themselves Ticos.

Of all the Spanish colonies, Costa Rica enjoyed the least influence as a colony. It was initially a tough and unpopular place to settle, with few valuable or easily exploited resources. The Spanish were far more interested in developing their holdings in Mexico and Peru, where vast amounts of silver and gold were being obtained. The early hapless settlers who came to Costa Rica were left largely to their own devices, and the first successful establishment of a colonial city was not until 1562, when Juan Vasquez de Coronado founded Cartago.

When Mexico rebelled against Spain in 1821, Costa Rica and the rest of Central America followed suit. Two years later, a faction in Costa Rica even opted to become part of Mexico, sparking a civil war in the country's center between four neighboring cities. After the republican cities of San Jose and Alajuela soundly defeated the pro-Mexican Heredia and Cartago, sovereignty was established.

The first head of state was Juan Mora Fernandez, elected in 1824. Best remembered for his land reforms, Fernandez followed a progressive course but inadvertantly created an elite class of powerful coffee barons. The barons later overthrew the nation's first president, Jose Maria Castro, who was succeeded by Juan Rafael Mora. It was under Mora's leadership that Costa Rican volunteers managed to repulse a would-be conqueror, the North American William Walker.

Walker was a disgruntled southerner who thought that the United States should annex Central America and turn it into a slave state. He was a lunatic, and a dangerous rather than charming one. With a piecemeal army of about 50 men, Walker had earlier invaded Mexico, where he had been captured and then released back to the States. Not to be discouraged, he next invaded Panama, where he briefly seized control before being forced to flee--into Costa Rica. After his bid for despotic rule there was defeated by Mora's forces, the indomitable Walker turned his attentions to Honduras. The Hondurans, unlike their predecessors on Walker's list, captured him, and Walker was finally and summarily executed.

Military rule has reared its head in Costa Rica from time to time, though it has not been marked by the sort of violent extremism that has occurred elsewhere in Central America. In 1870, when General Tomas Guardia seized control of the government, he made some of the country's most progressive reforms in education, military policy, and taxation.

The Costa Rican civil war erupted in 1948, after incumbent Dr. Rafael Angel Calderon and the United Social Christian Party refused to relinquish power after losing the presidential election. An exile named Jose Maria (Don Pepe) Figueres Ferrer managed to defeat Calderon in about a month, and he later proved to be one of Costa Rica's most influential leaders, as head of the Founding Junta of the Second Republic of Costa Rica.

Under Ferrer's leadership, the Junta made vast reforms in policy and civil rights. Women and blacks gained the vote, the communist party was banned, banks were nationalized, and presidential term limits established. Ferrer was immensely popular, creating a political legacy that lives on in his son, who leads the country today.

In 1987, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez garnered world recognition when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending the Nicaraguan civil war. During that conflict, both the Sandanistas and the Contras set up military bases in the northern area of Costa Rica, and Arias was elected under the promise that he would work to put an end to this situation. He was able to get all five Central American presidents to sign his peace plan, and Nicaragua is now experiencing relative stability.

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San Jose

San Jose has the infamous reputation as the ugly duckling of Central America. It is a hectic city of over 1.5 million, swamped with traffic, crowds, and noise. Very few of the architectural draws belonging to other capitals along the isthmus exist in San Jose. Behind the drab exterior, however, the city is the best place to meet the people of Costa Rica. They are famous for their generosity and good humor. The city has some particularly good museums, most notably the Jade Museum.

Braulio Carrillio National Park

One of Costa Rica's superior parks, Braulio Carrillio's 46,000 acres of rainforest are surrounded by a dramatic stretch of mountain highway connecting San Jose and the coastal city of Limon. Over 6,000 species of trees cling to the park's misty volcanic slopes, providing a lush habitat to more than 500 types of birds and 135 kinds of mammals. Here, you can find the treasured quetzal, a bird of mythic and unsurpassed beauty. As you hike beneath the forest canopy, hundreds of species of butterflies waft past like colorful pixies. Howler monkeys sing out eerily and swing in the net of branches above. The ground vegetation hides pumas, ocelots, tapirs, raccoons, and countless other mammals which are often heard but seldom seen.

One of the park's best features is the Teleferico del Bosque Lluvioso, or rainforest tram. The tram takes visitors on a 90-minute tour through the hidden world of the forest canopy, where two-thirds of all flora and fauna live. It is the only vehicle of its kind in the world and the only way to view the canopy outside of scaling a tree. The tram was constructed with the assistance of the Nicaraguan government, which provided the Russian helicopters that carried in the towers supporting the 1.5 km of cable.

Poas National Park

There are only a few places in the world where you can drive up to the edge of an active volcanic crater, and Poas National Park is one of them. There are in fact two craters visible from the summit of the volcano, the largest some 1.5 km wide. Poas is a scene from Dante's Inferno. Hellish exhalations of sulfuric gasses puff from vents a mere 300 meters below the observation platform, and a small lake pours off enraged steam. Surrounding the smaller cone is a dense forested area that is one of the few remaining habitats of the brilliant scarlet macaw. The eruption cycle of the Poas volvano is about forty years, and the last eruption was in 1978. During heightened volcanic activity the park may be closed. Poas is located about 30 miles to northeast of San Jose.

Corcovado National Park

Jungle-hungry adventurers will be pleased with this park. It is one of the largest, most remote, biologically dense, and challenging parks in the country. Its 54,500 hectares are located in the far south on the Osa Peninsula, and there is a great variety of habitat. On the west coast of the peninsula are miles of beaches, while its interior is a dense network of rivers, rain forests, and swamp land. The animal life here is known for its size. Jaguars roam in the shadows of the cloud forest, crocodiles ply the swamp, and hammerhead sharks have been known to cruise the estuaries.

Tortuguero National Park

No place is more vital to the survival of the Caribbean's green sea turtle than Tortuguero National Park. Located on the northern Caribbean coast, the park is home to nearly 30,000 of these marvelous animals---the largest breeding population in the world. Throughout the first half of this century, the turtles were hunted to near extinction for their value as a food source.

Visitors to Tortuguero have the rare privilege of watching the turtles dig their nests on the beach, an impressive and fascinating sight. The height of the nesting season comes in May and June, but at any given time there are usually a few nesting. The park also has extensive waterways leading inland, where more parklands harbor a variety of other animals, including sloths, crocodiles, toucans, monkeys and morpho butterflies.

Talamanca National Park

This tropical forest in the Talamanca mountains is almost perfectly intact. In 1982, UNESCO declared it a biosphere reserve, and then a world patrimony site a year later. Its climate zones, each harboring distinct flora and fauna, begin at 100 meters and rise to a towering 35,490 meters. It covers an area of 193,929 hectares, some of which rests on the other side of the Panamanian border.

The Reventazon

White water rafting and kayaking is becoming increasingly popular in Costa Rica. The bountiful rivers and their rapids provide more than just exciting recreation; they are a magnificent way to see the country. Many of them snake through the mountains and rainforests, and water travelers get to participate in the environment they witness. No river offers a more prized experience than the Reventazon, which stretches along the Nicaraguan border then down the Colorado delta system to the Caribbean coast. Rafting trips can be arranged in San Jose.

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