Corcovado National Park—the Amazon of Costa Rica—is the largest stronghold of Pacific coastline primary forest. Its 41,788 hectares encompass eight habitats, from mangrove swamp and jolillo palm grove to mountain forest. Because Corcovado Park is inundated with nearly 6 meters(20ft) of rain a year, it is known as a“tropical wet forest.” The park protects more than 400 species of birds (20 are endemic),116 of amphibians and reptiles, and 139 of mammals—representing 10 % of the mammals in the Americas. Its healthy population of scarlet macaws is the largest concentration in Central America. You can expect to see large flocks of macaws in flightor feeding on almond trees by the shoreline. Corcovado is a good place to spot the red-eyed tree frog (listen for his single-notemating “cluck”), the glass frog with its transparent skin, and enamel-bright poison-arrow frogs. And you can watch fishing bats. Corcovado is one of only two places in the country that harbor squirrel monkeys (the other is Manuel Antonio). It’s also one of the last stands in the world for the harpy eagle. Four species of sea turtles—green, pacific riddle, hawksbill, and leather back—nest on the park’s beaches. And the park supports a healthy population of tapirs and big cats, which like to hang around the periphery of the Corcovado Lagoon. Jaguar paw prints are commonly seen in the mud trails, and the catsare often sighted. (The park’s mammal population—notably peccaries—is under intensepressure from illegal hunters).

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The park has three entry points: La Leona, on the southeast corner near Carate; LosPatos, on the northern perimeter; and San Pedrillo, at the northwest corner, 18 km south of Drake Bay. You can hike or fly into the park headquarters at Sirena, midway between La Leona and San Pedrillo. All are linked by trails. Entrance fees are $8 eachday. The park is administered through the Osa Conservation Area headquarters in Puerto Jimenez, next to our office.