STAY 3 Nights for FREE Echo Investment Group is now offering a stay in Playas del Coco in one of our 2 Bedroom Condos with no risk or obligation. Simply come down and let us show you the investment opportunites and enjoy your stay. Additional nights are available for $50 per night Click Here To Learn More...

5 National Parks Within A Few Hours Drive

You don’t have to travel far to get a varied taste of Costa Rica’s inland biodiversity. Within a couple of hour’s drive are five national parks, each with their own unique offerings. You can choose to discover the country’s volcanic wonders, witness the nesting grouns of giant leatherback, indulge in therapeutic hot springs, or even take in a bit of history. All have hiking or horseback trails that offer a flavor of the country’s stunning array of plant and animal life: some, like Rincon de la Vieja and Arenal, let you see it via canopy tour.  Whether you travel by rented car or guided tour, for the day or overnight, your hotel at the beach can help you arrange a trip to your liking. So can any number of the independent water sports and tour operators. Here is a round up of the nearby parks and what they have to offer. In general, their entrance fees are $6, with an additional $2 a night per person if you want to camp out.


Rincón de la Vieja National Park

Located just 27 kilometers northeast of Liberia, Rincon offers a rare glimpse of the geological features of an active volcano. Tucked away within its wet and dry forest lands are boiling  mud pits, percolating streams and steaming fumaroles-all of which lend an eerie, other worldly contrast to the park’s other tropical treasure, from it’s hidden lakes and waterfalls to it’s abundant wildlife and diverse vegetation. At Rioncon’s 1,916 meter summit are nine craters, though only one is active. A rigorous four-to five- hour horseback ride and hike will get to the top, where on a clear day it is possible to see Lake Nicaragua.
At lower elevations, a series of trails take you through tropical forestland, dense with plant life, and open grassy fields, along streams and lagoons and past the mud pits and other steaming reminders that you are treading on a live volcano. You’ll likely spot a rich array of wildlife. Some 250 species of birds inhabit the park, as do many types of mammals. There are even spots to indulge in an open –air spa experience. They say Rincon’s clay deposits do wonders for your skin, while its warm mineral pools are great for de-stressing and working out muscle aches. The non paved roads leading up to the park’s entrance require a four-wheel drive. It takes about an hour and half forms Coco are beach tows. If you are looking to stay overnight, camping is available. There are also several hotels located close to the park’s entrance.

Arenal National Park

The chance to see an active volcano “do is thing”, is what makes Arenal, Costa Rica’s chief tourist draw. With a near-perfect cone rising 1,657 meters out of rich forestland, Arenal volcano regularly rumbles and spews molten rock, ash, and lava. This thunderous, red fireworks display is especially dramatic against the night’s sky; which is why an overnight stay is recommended. Considered young at less than 3000 years old, the volcano has been continuously active since 1968, when a series of major eruptions over three days destroyed the villages of Pueblo Nuevo and Tabacon. These days, park rangers enforce a safety perimeter. Volcano viewing is done from established observation areas or nearby hotels and hiking is restricted to the lower slopes of the mountain, where thriving cloud and rain forests support a rich array of flora and fauna. Indeed, the park itself has attraction beyond its famous volcano. Another popular draw is Tabacon Hot Springs, whose natural mineral pools tucked away in landscaped tropical setting offers visitors a chancgce to get wet, relax, and rejuvenate. Man-made Lake Arenal, Costa Rica’s larget lake is known for excellent fresh water fishing and world-class windsurfing. The La Fortuna aterfal, sequestered in the rain forest just beyond the park, is well worth the hour-long hike or horseback ride. There’s also the dormant Cherro Chato volcano whose collapsed crater is home to a small lake. There’s no entrance fee to the park itself, but some individual attractions, including Tabacon , and the water fall,  do require a fee to get in. t take around two hours to drive to park. Local airlines also fly to the La Fortuna Airport nearby

Palo Verde National Park

If birds are your thing, this is the place to go. Located 30 kilometers west of Cañas, about two hour drive from Coco, Palo Verde is among the most important and ecologically diverse wetland in Central America. Its rivers, mangroves, marshes and seasonally flooded fields combine with dry forest and rolling limestone hills to provide sanctuary to more than 50000 waterfowl and forest birds, both resident and migratory. Among them, you can seherons, wood storks, blue egrets and roseate spoonbills.
Palo Verde is the nesting ground for the endangered jabirus and home to the only colony of scarlet macaws in the Dry Pacific. Palo Verde gets its name from de palo verde, or horse bean, tree which grows in abundance within its borders. The name literally means “green stick” as the thorny shrub’s leaves, branches and trunk are all green. One of the most popular ways to catch sight of this bush as well as the park’s diverse bird life is via covered pontoon boat or raft for a leisurely tour down the Bebedero, Corobicior Tempisque rivers. You’ll also have a chance to see some of the animal life that inhabits the park, including crocodiles, howler and white-faces monkeys, with-tailed deer, tree squirrels and coatimundis. The best time to go is during the December-April dry season, when most of the 250 species are in residence. Flooding makes some areas inaccessible during the rainy season. If you can reserve space in the park station’s dormitory facilities or four person rooms for $50 per person, including meals and a guide walk. Camping is also allowed near the ranger station.