For at least five miles, one can witness different intertwining plants, trees, creepers, ferns, mosses, and orchids that seem to be in a perpetual struggle for light and life. A tiny hummingbird nest holds an egg about to hatch and a baby already born. Bats fluff their wings while under the shelter of a giant leaf. A big black tarantula with orange legs can stay tucked for years in the same burrow, waiting for its prey. A cougar and a puma sprint across the vista.
At the Monteverde Rainforest, as in other nature parks of Costa Rica, tourists can choose a different way to visit the rainforest: sliding into it while fitted with a helmet and a harness attached to steel cables stretched between platforms overlooking the jungle called the ‘canopy,’ not far removed from how Tarzan and Jane did it. The trees can be forty feet high.
Natural abundance is the main asset of Costa Rica. Tourism complements the country’s income from coffee and, more recently, electronics. In the past, Costa Rica opted to devote a greater share of its national budget to education instead of the army. This small tropical republic is a charming treasure trove of biodiversity, to say the least. It has also been attracting a steadily growing number of tourists, at 2 million to 4.5 million foreign visitors per year.
Costa Rica is said to be home to 4 percent of the biodiversity on the planet. Nature alone is worth the trip to Costa Rica. Nearly a third of the land area holds a protected rainforest that is home to exceptional wildlife. There are more than 300,000 species of insects and more than 850 species of birds. The Costa Rican coasts provide breeding environment for five of the seven marine turtle species known on the planet. Between June and November, it is common to see at night the green turtles emerging from the sea to lay their eggs in the sand. Costa Rica’s crystal clear waters are also home to shoals of hammerhead sharks.
