Costa Rica A Paradise For Eco Tourism

F or those who would like a        dense jungles and rain forests     destination for                 with a wide variety of fauna.      eco-tourism, Costa Rica is      Some of these forests are          hard to beat. For a little            referred to as cloud forests       country in Central America that's     because of the moisture of the     only 19,730 square miles, there's     mists that linger among the trees  definitely a lot to see and do        in some parts. One forest has a    there. Costa Rica means ‘rich       cable car set up so that tourists  coast' in Spanish, which is the       can observe the plant and animal   country's official language.          life at the treetop levels. For    Located between Nicaragua to the      the more adventurous types, there  north and Panama to the south,        is a place where one can swing     Costa Rica is one of the most         from tree to tree using a network  stable and prosperous of all          of rope attachments. There are     Latin American countries. There       also dry forests as well as        are tropical beach resorts on         colder barren volcanic tundras.    both the Pacific and Atlantic         Quite extreme changes in           coasts of the country for sun         microclimate can be observed even  vacationers but the main              within 30 minutes of travel. Some  attraction of Costa Rica is the       parts of the country have canal    eco-tourism. For example, there       systems similar to those found in  is a wider variety of bird            the Amazon and a few rivers offer  species in Costa Rica alone than      excellent white water rafting.     in all of Europe and North                                               America.                              There are several volcanoes                                              within the country and the         Surprisingly, there are diverse       extinct ones are easily            eco-systems and microclimates         accessible since they are tourist  within Costa Rica. In addition to     attractions. A few have beautiful  the coastal beaches, there are        turquoise color lakes that have    formed in the craters at the top      marine animals than can be found   of such volcanoes. One of the         in the Caribbean.                  more famous active volcanoes is                                          Arenal where visitors can safely      Coffee and bananas are some of     watch the eruptions from a nearby     the main exports for Costa Rica.   facility that has outdoor hot         For coffee lovers, this is the     springs naturally heated by the       place to sample some of the best   mountain.                             in the world although it should                                          be warned that the locals like     In addition to the many different     their coffee quite strong. Tours   birds that can be sighted, there      in the valleys will often go past  is a wide number of other exotic      numerous coffee plantations.       wildlife including monkeys,                                              sloths, jaguars, bats and             Most tourists will fly into the    reptiles that can be seen during      capital city of San Jose.          one of the many available nature      Although there is some nice        tours. Every year, there are sea      colonial architecture to see in    turtles that come to certain          San Jose, it's not one of the      beaches to nest and this event        nicer places to stay in Costa      attracts many nature lovers. The      Rica. The city is noisy and        wildlife in Costa Rica is not         polluted but relatively safe. One  only rich on land or the air but      can use San Jose as a base for     also in the surrounding oceans.       many day trips to the various      For scuba divers, Costa Rica          rain forests, volcanoes and        offers excellent diving               beaches. Travelers can also fly    opportunities and they are quite      into Liberia which is a town in    different from the waters in the      the north part of the country.     Caribbean. The higher amounts of      This is a much quieter region and  plankton in the local seas            close to many of the northern      attract more numbers of large         resorts. One option that many      travelers take is to rent a           There is so much to see and do in  vehicle and tour the country on       Costa Rica that many visitors      their own. However, the roads of      return to see parts of the         Costa Rica are not the best with      country that they missed before.   lots of potholes and mudslides        The country is easily the most     are common during the wet season      popular destination to visit in    from June to November. If renting     Central America. Costa Rica now    a vehicle, a 4x4 is definitely        has tourist offices set up in      recommended.                          North America for those who want                                         further information.               About the Author: Clint Leung owner of Free Spirit Activewear (http://www.FreeSpiritActivewear.com) , an online retailer/designer specializing in premium quality activewear with specialty sports themes including scuba diving and martial arts. Free Spirit Activewear has numerous information resource articles on specialty sports as well as free eCards. Source: www.isnare.com