Guanacaste Conservation Area: Costa Rica’s Dry Tropical Forest
Posted on 2011 under Costa Rica Parks | No Comment
guanacaste conservation area costa rica Guanacaste Conservation Area: Costa Ricas Dry Tropical Forest
Guanacaste Conservation Area Costa Rica
The Guanacaste Conservation Area along Costa Rica’s Pacific Gold Coast celebrated its 20th birthday in 2011.
It’s part of an extensive system of Costa Rica national parks that now are set aside across 25% of the country.
Within it are three national parks—Santa Rosa, Guanacaste, and Rincon de la Vieja—as well as Junquillal Wildlife Refuge and several parcels of formerly privately owned properties, all combined into a continuous biological corridor that helps protect 65% of Costa Rica’s species: 230,000 different species of plants and animals.
Biological corridors are contiguous areas of a habitat that connect wildlife populations that were formerly cut off by human activities like roads, logging, farming, and development. They help to re-establish wildlife populations, reduce inbreeding and increase genetic diversity.
The conservation area is divided into three sectors:
The Cacao Sector, located about 20 miles from Liberia International Airport, is characterized by steep terrain and three types of forest: dry tropical to cloud to the rain forest. There are trails through the forest to the summit and a biological station open to visitors between 8 am to 4 pm. It contains dormitory-style lodging of four rooms with a capacity of 32 people, 4 restrooms and 2 showers.
The Maritza Sector is located along the continental divide and protects the headwaters of six important rivers.
It contains the Maritza Biological Station, dedicated to understanding tropical streams and their watersheds. It owes its existence to an innovative “debt-for-nature” swap orchestrated by The Nature Conservancy, the Costa Rican government, the Stroud Foundation, and two families. Its ongoing research includes detailed studies of hydrology, biogeochemistry, organic chemistry, organic food inputs, population and community ecology, pesticide analyses and genetics.
This sector also contains hundreds of petroglyphs.
There’s a visitor center open 8 am to 4 pm, and dormitory-style accommodations for 32 people.
The Pitilla Sector sits alongside Orosi volcano. Within it are several thousand acres of regenerating forest (1-80 years old), and about 25,000 acres of virgin cloud and rain forest, with scattered pastures. It’s one of most species-rich sites in Costa Rica and there are about 7 miles of trails that provide access to different habitats but much of the area is largely unexplored.
This is true rain forest and gets about 13 feet of rain between May and February.
There’s a two-room dormitory at the Pitilla Biological Station containing 20 beds (expandable to about 30 by sleeping on floors) with 3 showers and toilets, adjacent to broad roofed porches and corridors for laboratory work and classroom activities. There is no electricity, but there is plenty of clean water for showers and drinking.
Guanacaste is one of the most popular tourist destinations and, with the help of progressive Costa Rica conservation efforts, can remain so.