Corcovado National Park

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Map of Costa Rica with Corcovado National Park
Beach in the national park
Anteater in the national park

The Corcovado National Park is located in the western part of the peninsula Osa in southwestern Costa Rica . It is one of the best preserved rainforests in Costa Rica. It was declared a national park in 1975 and is approximately 41,788 hectares in size.

Flora and fauna

Corcovado National Park offers thirteen different ecosystems. Mainly by dense lowland rainforest, prämontanem mountain rain forest and mangrove -covered area is home to a large number of animal and plant species that can be seen nowhere else in the world: there are more than 500 different tree species, about 140 mammal - and 370 bird species represented , more than 150 species of orchids , 120 reptiles and amphibians and more than 6000 species of insects .

history

Because of its remoteness, the rainforest remained untouched by humans until the 1960s. A few years later, however, a gold discovery led to several hundred prospectors entering the forest. Their activities caused rivers to silt up and the forest to be damaged. Therefore, the prospectors were driven out of the park in 1986. This action was initiated by the then President Daniel Oduber Quirós , who was awarded the Albert Schweitzer Prize by the Animal Welfare Institute in 1977.

Infrastructure

The place Puerto Jiménez is the starting point for hikes in the national park, the park administration is also located here. The most important ranger stations within the park are Los Patos on the northern Gulf side, San Pedrillo in the south of Drake Bay and La Sirena , the largest station, on the southern Pacific side and La Leona on the southern park entrance.

The network of trails within the Corcovado is well developed, trails lead from Los Patos to La Sirena, from La Sirena to La Leona and from La Sirena to San Pedrillo. The trail from La Sirena to San Pedrillo has to be closed occasionally.

Ranger station and tourist accommodation in La Sirena
Coast in Corcovado National Park between Sirena and La Leona ranger stations.

Individual evidence

  1. costarica-online.com: Corcovado National Park
  2. costarica-online.com: Tour through the Corcovado National Park

Web links

Commons : Corcovado National Park  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 8 ° 33 ′  N , 83 ° 33 ′  W