 Location
Mother of all parks, Corcovado National Park is located in the
Pacific Coast, in the Península de Osa, in the province of
Puntarenas. It covers an area of approximately 54.538 hectares on
land and 2.400 hectares in sea.
Climate
The hot and humid climate of Corcovado National Park owes its
allegiance to the thick cover of tropical rain forests in the
American pacific. The park receives an annual precipitation of over
5.000 millimeters.
Significance of the park
The park is considered as a real time life laboratory, to study
structure and function of the tropical ecosystems and the
relationship between them. It also offers a rich environment for
investigation and scientific studies and formulates a template for
ecological education.
Flora and Fauna
Corcovado National Park's vast forest belt is a sanctuary to eight
habitats, from mangrove swamp and jolillo palm grove to mountain
forest. The park protects more than 400 species of birds (of which
20 are endemic), 116 species of amphibians and reptiles, 500
species of trees and 139 distinct species of mammals.
 Corcovado's wildlife offers an ideal location for
the red-eyed tree frog and four species of green turtles, pacific
ridley, hawksbill and leatherback. The wildlife species that thrive
within the park is prodigious. Some of the protected animal species
include scarlet macaw, ocelot, tapirs, harpy eagle, crocodiles,
spiders, howlers, squirrels, besides white-faced capuchin monkeys
and poison dark frog.
Further, the park protects several endangered species like cats,
big reptiles and species of birds of restricted distribution. There
exist 104 species of mammals, 367 of birds, 117 species of
amphibians and reptiles and 40 species of fresh water fish.
The park also is a sanctuary to danta, the jaguar, the puma, the
white face monkeys, squirrels, congos, besides other species. It is
also one of the key conservation zones of Costa Rica for the
protection of lizards and crocodiles.
 How to approach
The Corcovado National Park has four ranger stations namely Los
Patos, Sirena, San Pedrillo, and La Llorona. There are three routes
that tourists can easily take in order to get into Sirena.
Irrespective of the route you choose, it will take on an average
6-8 hours of hiking. The route from Carate is almost all along the
beach. Very little shade is present and the sand often leaves
hikers with blisters. The interior route from Los Patos is
mountainous, besides shaded with canopy of tropical forests.
However, tourists enjoy hassle free journey to Corcovado
National Park as it is well-connected by road and air.
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