 Location
The Guanacaste National Park was created in the year 1989 to
connect it with the Santa Rosa National Park. The idea behind
merging them was to make the seasonal migration of the movement of
birds and insects easy amongst these parks, which house dryforest
and evergreen forests. There are numerous animals and birds such as
jaguars, tapirs, sloths, three-wattled bellbirds and monkeys whose
migratory routes are protected due to to the Guanacaste National
Park. These creatures move seasonally between the lowlands and the
slopes of the Volcán Cacao and Orosí. The Guanacaste
national park also houses the Cacao, Maritza and Pitilla biological
stations.
Kind of Habitat
A walk around the park is the best way to explore this unusual
terrain. A range of ecosystems has emerged due to the differing
terrain. You can witness the changes yourself, as you see that
there are dry Pacific forests lying next to the border of Santa
Rosa National Park. As you move on to the peaks of the Orosi and
Cacao volcanoes, you would see the cloud forests. A trip down the
lanes means walking through the rainforests.
Animal species: The animals you can spot in the dry forests
are: White-tailed deer, variegated squirrels, collared peccaries,
white-nosed coatis, howler monkeys, capuchin monkeys and
long-tongued bats. The birds that you could spot here are:
white-throated magpie jays, orange-fronted parakeets, and crested
caracara. Needless to say, the flora and fauna in the park is huge
and varied. There are over 300 birds, 100 amphibians and reptiles,
140 species of mammals and over 10,000 species of insects. There
are also said to be some 5000 species of butterflies in the
Guanacaste region.
 Floral species: There is a range of
floral species corresponding to the habitat in the park. The park
is covered with jaragua grass and pioneer trees. The deciduous
forests are covered with about 240 species of trees, which include
mahogany, rosewood and oak and bushes. Some 3000 species have been
identified to be dotting this area.
Climate: Although this is one of the dry areas, yet as
you keep on climbing the frequency of rains keep on increasing.
 The Cacao Field station is situated at a
height of 1100 meters on the slope of Volcan Cacao. The biological
station of Pitilla is situated at a height of 600 meters on the
northeast of Cacao. There is a laboratory in the Cacao station.
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