Less than 30 minutes drive from San Jose, the main highway to Limon cuts through this magnificent park, too often admired only from the comfort of a vehicle. The Braulio Carrillo National Park (named after Costa Rica's third chief of state) was established in 1978 in order to support and protect a great and varied number of plant and animal species.

Rugged mountain peaks, primary forest, dormant volcanoes, thundering waterfalls, deep canyons and semi permanent cloud and/or rain combine to create a unique environment of 44,099ha.

Part of the reason why there is such a huge variety of plant and animal life in Braulio Carrillo is that it encompasses a wide spread of altitudinal zones. Elevations within the park range from the top of the Barva Volcano (2906m) to less than 50m in the Caribbean lowlands. Five different life zones are represented and their differences in elevation create many different habitats.

A visit to the park can consists of anything from a brief stop to see just one habitat to an adventurous trip of several days, climbing Barva and perhaps the nearby volcano Cacho Negro (2150m) before descending down to the lowlands on foot. The observant naturalist may see Costa Rica's national bird, the resplendent Quetzal, as well as umbrella birds, toucans, trogons, guans, eagles and a host of other avifauna. Mammals living in the park include cats such as the jaguar, puma or ocelot, tapirs and sloths, all of which are difficult to see. More likely sightings include peccaries or one of the three species of monkeys present in the park.

30 km north of San Jose, Heredia
Opening hours: From 8:00 to 16:00