- Guanacaste :
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Guanacaste Attractions
Province of Guanacaste
North Guanacaste harbors an important portion of the Costa Rican cultural and natural patrimony. Not in vain there are a significant number of protected areas, including coastal, mountainous, terrestrial, and aquatic ecosystems, where life develops with exuberance. It is situated in the northern part of the country, and covers the pacific coast of Costa Rica, since the limit with Nicaragua to Punta Cerritos, located 22 km. west from de city of Santa Cruz. It covers an extension of approximately 100 km. of the Pacific Coast. In the past, this region has had its natural vocation in the cattle rising and in the agriculture.
Northern Guanacaste
Currently, nevertheless, the incomparable beauty of its landscapes, that go from the tropical dry forest to the forest montano low and its hot climate, as well as its fertile nature, have done of Guanacaste one of the most concurred places by the local and international tourism. Besides an important backup in the Pole of Tourist Development of the Papagayo's Gulf, there is the Daniel Oduber International, where a large quantity of flights arriving charter and regular flights from the United States, Canada, and major flight connections to U. S. , Canada and Europe.
Bird-Watching
Bird-watching is possible mainly in protected areas. Many sites offer the opportunity to "get with the birds," with Palo Verde, Curú, Isla Bolaños and Tenorio among the biggest.
Diving
This adventure or recreational activity is becoming more and more popular in Guanacaste, thanks to its excellent dive sites and the specialized companies that normally offer services abroad. Important sites include the Gulf of Papagayo and the Santa Catalina islands.
Shopping for Handycrafts
The handicrafts of Guaitil de Santa Cruz and San Vicente de Nicoya are made of pure clay using the traditional and ancient techniques of the Chorotega indigenous group. Ornaments, urns, flowerpots, vases, plates, decorative whistles and other figures are fashioned and may be bought for their fine finish and interest in several parts of Guanacaste. Visitors can also acquire other kinds of handicrafts fashioned out of jícaro (a kind of gourd) or the thipa plant, from which various paper products are made.
Santa Rosa National Park
This park has two sectors: Murciélago and Santa Rosa itself. Located in the northern part of the Santa Elena peninsula, Murciélago features several beaches, including El Hachal, Danta, Coquito, Santa Elena and Blanca. The administrative area offers parking, picnic tables, bathrooms, drinking water and camping. There are also viewpoints and trails.
The Santa Rosa sector shelters the largest tract of tropical dry forest in Central America. Wildlife here includes white-tailed deer and Congo and white-faced monkeys. This area features two beaches: Naranjo, which permits camping, and Nancite, which is operated as a biological station and where olive ridley turtles come to nest. Finally, Santa Rosa has great historical importance as the site of the Battle of Santa Rosa.
Rincón de la Vieja National Park
This national park is home to Rincon de la Vieja Volcano. It extends over 14,083 ha (35,000 Acres), and is divided into two sectors: Las Pailas and Santa María. The park contains nine volcanic cones and one lake, La Jilgueros. These areas have trails to the craters, waterfalls and hot springs.
This Unit includes the southwest coast of the Nicoya Peninsula. Its north limit is the Punta Cerritos and its south with river Bongo outfall, with a length of approximately 110 kilometers in front of the coast.
The main tourist centers of the South Guanacaste Unit are the Nicoya city and the town of Santa Cruz, located at 30 and 26 kilometers of the coast respectively that work as distribution centers and stop breaks for the tourist that travels to the south Guanacaste beaches and the travelers to other passages. The second tourist center is the village of Sámara, located over the coast, which gives it a central position in relation with the whole passage territory.
Southern Guanacaste
The main resources of the unit are the beaches. It has a extended potential for the development of beach combined products and natural resources such as the spectacular arriving of the turtles Lora in the Wild Life National Refuge Ostional and the estuary and mangrove swamp of the south side, specially those who divide the beaches of Islita, Bejuco, San Miguel, Coyote and Guiones. The mangrove swamp are excellent conserved and are ideal sites for the bird sight and other type of fauna as well as the practice of light sports as the "kayaking".
Treetop Adventures
There are several options for visitors to observe the goings-on in the forest canopy, including various monkey and bird species.
Architectyral and Historic Sites
There are sites and buildings of architectural or historic interest and National Monuments that are considered must-see places, mainly in Abangares, Bagaces, Cañas, Liberia, Santa Cruz and Nicoya.
Horseback Riding
A pastoral region, Guanacaste offers this activity in coastal areas and in the mountains and their communities. Horseback-riding tours are available through tourism operators or family-owned farms that rent horses.
Diving
This adventure or recreational activity is becoming more and more popular in Guanacaste, thanks to its excellent dive sites and the specialized companies that normally offer services abroad. Important sites include the Gulf of Papagayo and the Santa Catalina islands.
Barra Honda National Park
Located 22 kilometers northeast of Nicoya, this park's 2,295 hectares protect an important geological feature: a system of calcareous caverns with stalactite and stalagmite formations. At 450 meters high, Barra Honda hill is made up of ancient coral reefs pushed up out of the earth by tectonic faults.
Around 19 caverns have been explored. Terciopelo is most accessible and is open to the public. Its stalactites and stalagmites are formed by calcium carbonate in the cavern ceiling dissolving upon coming into contact with water. The park offers parking, drinking water, outhouses, lodging, information, trails and viewpoints showing landscapes of the Río Tempisque.
Ostional National Wildlife Refugee
Ostional was established as a refuge to protect the olive riddle turtles that nest on this shore. The most important nesting area stretches from a place known as La Roca to the Ostional estuary. Olive riddles can lay more than 100 eggs each on the refuge's beaches. Once a year, a phenomenon called la arribada ("the arrival") occurs between September and November. For three to seven days, hosts of olive riddles descend upon the refuge to lay thousands of eggs.
July 25th Celebration
This date mark the annexation of the Nicoya Zone to Costa Rica in 1824. This is a national holiday, celebrated most actively in the province of Guanacaste, especially in Nicoya and Liberia.
Nicoya
Considered by scholars to be the oldest city in the country and the heart of the Chorotega nation, Nicoya has well defined sectors: park, Catholic Church and various commercial centers including the local market, where typical food and drink are sold.
Guaitil and San Vicente Pottery
The residents of Guaitil de Santa Cruz and San Vicente de Nicoya (towns with more than 5,000 years of tradition in pottery) fashion beautiful work out of clay using the traditional and ancestral techniques of the Chorotega indigenous group, which once inhabited this part of the country. Pieces include ornaments, urns, flowerpots, vases, plates and ceramic whistles.
Sport Fishing
This is one of the Pacific region's main attractions. Artisan and recreational fishing are possible, but of greater interest are the tournaments in which several world billfish records have been broken. The fish are returned to the water after weigh-in.
Bird Watching
Bird-watching is possible mainly in protected areas. Many sites offer the opportunity to "get with the birds," with Palo Verde, Curú, Isla Bolaños and Tenorio among the big
Cuisine
Typical towns are characterized by sodas (small restaurants serving local food), cafes and restaurants where visitors can sample the cuisine of Guanacaste. Cañas, Tilarán, Liberia and mainly Santa Cruz and Nicoya stand out as communities with traditions in typical food and drink.
Las baulas National Marine Park and Tamarindo National Wildlife Refugee
Both these wilderness areas are located mainly in the Playa Grande area and in the Tamarindo estuary; however, they also include Playa Carbón, Playa Ventanas and Playa Langosta, Morro and Hermoso hills and the San Francisco and Ventanas mangrove swamps. Nesting giant leatherback turtles are the park's main tourist attraction. Largest of the world's sea turtles, the endangered leatherback is protected in Costa Rica.
La Amistad Bridge
Inaugurated in 2003, this bridge has replaced the ferry service that for many years allowed crossing of this river. A significant work of engineering built with cooperation from the Taiwanese government, the bridge spans 780 meters and serves as a launching point for major development of the Guanacaste region.
Bullfights and Rodeos
Almost every Guanacaste town has a venue for rodeos or bull fights. During the event, you can watch as the bull is released into the arena and participant's race to avoid being charged. Bull riders also test their mettle on the bucking beasts.
Sport Fishing
This is one of the Northern Pacific region's main attractions. Artisan and recreational fishing are possible, but of greater interest are the tournaments in which several world billfish records have been broken. The fish are returned to the water after weigh-in.