Caribbean Lowlands for a Nature Tour
l Caribbean Lowlands l Mountains l Southwest Pacific l NW Pacific l Central Pacific l Central Valley - San Jose l
The Caribbean Lowlands includes extensive reserves of the old lowland forests that once covered the whole area. Here you will also find Puerto Viejo de Limon and some of Costa Rica's cultural diversity (see Favorite Destinations for more on Puerto Viejo). A Costa Rica nature tour that includes Tortuguero, some of the parks and reserves of the Lowlands, and a visit to Puerto Viejo would be one delightful option to consider. Call us to talk about others.
The Caribbean Lowlands extend from the Caribbean coast west to the mountains. This region should be included in a Costa Rica rain forest tour, possibly in combination with travel to the dry tropical forests or the cloudforests. This region accounts for nearly 1/5th of Costa Rica's landmass. Temperatures average in the 80's °F, and rainfall is about 12 feet per year in most of the area. With its warm and humid climate, this area is where many "tropical" crops such as pineapples, bananas, papaya, plantains, manioc, heart of palm and ornamental tropical flowers are grown. This vast area was once dominated by Lowland Tropical Rainforest, the most biologically rich and diverse terrestrial ecosystem on earth. Much of the area was cleared for pasture for beef cattle and the aforementioned tropical crops in the last 50 years. Fortunately, sizable tracts of lowland rainforests one can visit have been preserved in Tortuguero and Cahuita National Parks, Gandoca-Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge, and private reserves of La Selva, Selva Verde, and Tirimbina. These rainforests are dominated by tall trees, thick woody vines known as lianas, and many palms. Rainforests are home to monkeys, sloths, toucans, macaws, parrots (and over half the bird species of Costa Rica), giant blue morpho butterflies, diminutive poison dart frogs and larger colorful red, blue, green, white and orange-footed gaudy-eyed tree frogs, and much more. No Costa Rica nature tour would be complete without a visit to one of the lowland tropical rainforests!
l Caribbean Lowlands l Mountains l Southwest Pacific l NW Pacific l Central Pacific l Central Valley - San Jose l
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