"Deep in the rainforest the silent watchfulness of thousand creatures surrounded us and we felt as one with the earth's essence."

"On a dark, cloudless night in Costa Rica, we witnessed the fiery explosions of Arenal Volcano. This is how the earth must have looked in its tumultuous beginnings."

Evocative images. Strong emotions. Such are Costa Rica's almost magical attractions that soothe today's spirit weary traveler.

We live in a world filled with material goods; we are protected from the elements in our safe cocoon of concrete, glass and steel but, somehow, something is missing.

Only when we escape this artificial environment do we recognize how strong is our human need for contact with the natural world. There we find energy...for the soul.

Costa Rica has become a Mecca for travelers seeking to escape the stress and tedium of the modern world and the monotony of more conventional vacation destinations. Here they can slow down, immerse themselves in beauty and establish a link with nature.

Costa Rica is a small mountainous country on the narrow Central American isthmus. It is only a day's drive from the northern border with Nicaragua to neighboring Panama in south, and one could cross from ocean to ocean in only a few hours. But why hurry? There's just too much to see in between.

In Costa Rica life reaches it's greatest expression...

Costa Rica's stunning scenic heritage unfolds in an ever-changing panorama of steaming volcanoes, forested mountains, dramatic skies and bucolic countryside. Dark lowland jungles give way to rolling savannas; Pacific surf crashes against rocky headlands, in sharp contrast to the tranquility of palm-fringed Caribbean beaches.

The climate is idyllic. In the lowlands - which are dry in the Pacific northwest and humid elsewhere - daytime temperatures range in the eighties to nineties F° (high twenties to mid-twenties C°) at middle elevations, the mercury can fall as low as the forties and fifties F° (five to mid teens C°) at the top of the mountains. Even night time frost is an uncommon occurrence on the highest peaks. Within each elevation range, temperatures remain relatively constant year-round.

Rainfall, on the other hand, is subject to annual and regional patterns. The northwest has a fairly well-defined dry season ("verano" or summer) from November to April. The dry season is a month or two shorter along the southern Pacific coast. July also tends to be a dry month on the Pacific slope. Welcome rains during the balance of the year bring about a general greening and refreshing of the countryside. Rains usually come in afternoon cloudbursts, leaving the mornings sunny and the nights sky filled with stars.

This period is called "invierno" (winter or rainy season) or "temporada verde" (green season). Rainfall on the Caribbean slope is more evenly distributed throughout the year, with marked dry periods in May-June and again in September-October.

Each year, Costa Ricans welcome thousands of visitors to share the peaceful beauty and natural treasures of their country.

In Costa Rica, tropical nature has reached its greatest expression.

From the top of the mountains...

Located in the tropical latitudes, between the giant biological influences of North and South America and boarded by two oceans, mountainous Costa Rica enjoys an immense diversity of climates and ecosystems.

Twelve major life zones harbor an astounding amount of plant and animal life. While Costa Rica covers a mere 0.03% of the planet's surface, the nation is endowed with over 5% of all life forms on earth.

Costa Ricans have preserved this invaluable biodiversity in protected areas covering fully one quarter of the land and organized into major units called Conservation Arias. No other country in the world has so much actively protected area per capita. Costa Rica is often cited as a model for conservation in harmony with community development and economic growth.

National parks and reserves are open to the public at government established fees. Private reserves set their own entrance rates.

An impressive 22,647 miles (36,447 km.) of roads plus well-developed nature trail systems give easy access to every habitat and all but the most remote areas. You can drive to the very edge of a volcanic crater, through the heart of a mountain jungle, take an aerial tram ride in the rainforest canopy and soak up sun on a deserted beach, all on the same day.

Rainforest

In the foothills and lowlands of both slopes, Costa Rica's rainforests harbor thousands of known life forms and thousands more yet to be described. They are among the last strongholds of biodiversity on earth. Resonating with the songs of birds, at dawn. the rainforest is quiet in the heart of the day, its stillness punctuated by the insect-like call of poison dart frogs, the rasping of cicadas or the whistled notes of wrens and antbirds.

The dark, cool interior of primary rainforest is surprisingly free of entangling vegetation. Only where light manages to filter through the interlocking canopy to the forest floor does vegetation proliferate. Walking in the rainforest is like taking a step back time. The modern world and all its stress fade into insignificance.

Cloudforest

The forests on the upper slopes of Costa Rica's mountains and volcanoes are frequently draped in mist and clouds. Algae, mosses and lichens get a foothold on the constantly wet surfaces, providing a places for orchids, bromeliads, ferns and innumerable other plants to cling to. So prolific is these "epiphytic" growth in the cloud forest that bare branches are virtually non-existent. Sometimes harsh conditions such as prevailing winds and supersaturated soils cause the forest to be stunted - like the elfin forest at Monteverde's continental divide or the gnarly, dwarf woods at the summit of Poás Volcano.

The cloud forest captures the imagination of even the most cynical among us. It emanates a sense of ancient and enduring life. Of peace. Sitting quietly overhead, its long feathery tail swaying gently in the breeze, is a scarlet and emerald bird that seems to embody the spirit of the cloud forest. Aptly named, the Resplendent Quetzal is considered by many to be the most beautiful bird in the world.

Volcanoes and Mountains

Costa Rica's nine active volcanoes vividly remind visitors of the awesome power contained by the earth's thin mantle. At Irazu Volcano, it is easy to see why Neil Armstrong said that its desolate landscape looks like the surface of the moon. Anyone peering into Poás mammoth crater with its boiling, sulfurous lake, is reminded just how tenuous is man's supposed dominion over the world.

Arenal, most active and no doubt the most studied of all Costa Rica's volcanoes, booms and rumbles with an unnerving consistency and its nocturnal pyrotechnics have struck awe in the hearts of thousands of observers. On the lower slopes of Rincón de la Vieja, the power is vented in boiling mud pots, hissing fumaroles and thermal streams.

The non-volcanic Talamancas are ruggedly beautiful and contain two of the nation's tallest peaks. The Inter-American highway, crossing the 11,453 ft. (3,491 m.) Cerro de la Muerte, reaches over 9,843 feet (3,000 m.) passing through highland forests of Costa Rican Oak and the only road-accessible "páremo" vegetation in the country. To see evidence of the glacier that topped 12,533 ft. (3,820 m.) Chirripó, during the last ice age, requires a 9 hour hike and cold weather camping. But it's definitely worth the effort.

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