National Parks

The national park system began in the 1960s. There are now about three dozen national parks and other protected areas in Costa Rica about 13% of the land area. In addition, various buffer zones and forest reserves boost the total area of protected land to about 27%, but these buffer zones allow farming, logging and other exploitation, and are not fully protected. Also, there are dozens of privately owned lodges, reserves and haciendas that are set up to protect the land.

Not all of the protected are as are accessible to travelers. Some reserves are closed to everyone except researchers with permits. Indigenous reserves are for the few remaining tribes in Costa Rica and have almost no infrastructure for tourism. Most visitors stick to the main national parks and a few reserves that have trails and other facilities. Only these are mentioned in the text,

National parks information is provided by the public information office of the Setvicio de Parques Nacionales, Calle 25, Avs 8 and 10, San Jose it's open Monday to Friday from 8 am to 4 pm. SPN headquarters, Apdo 10104 1000, San Jose, is also here. The SPN has a tollfree number that provides up todate admission and other information Monday to Friday from 7 am to 5 pm. Recently, national park information was best obtained from the Fundacion de Parques Nacionales, Av 15 east of Calle 23, (300 meters north and 175 meters east of Santa Teresita church) in San Jose. Office hours are Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4 pm. Park information availability may change in the future, so call first.

National parks charge an entrance fee of US$6 per day plus US$2 for overnight camping per person. A few parks and refuges provide basic camping facilities or food and accommodations in ranger stations. Those most often visited by campers are Santa Rosa in northwestern Costa Rica (tropical dry forest, wildlife, beaches) and Corcovado in the Peninsula de Osa (rain forest, wildlife). Cahuita and Tortugueto, on the Caribbean, and VoIcan Rincon de la Vieja in northwestern Costa Rica are parks that allow camping but have very basic campsites. Others either have no campground or prohibit camping.

You can volunteer to work in the national parks jobs vary from office work in cities to helping in remote areas. Volunteers pay US$5 to US$ 10 per day toward costs and make a two month commitment. For an application, write to the Asociacion Voluntarias de Parques Nacionales, Apdo 10104 1000, San Jose.