 Location
La Amistad International Park is located in the Talamanca mountain
range and it extends into the country of Panama also. Henceforth
the result is a biodiversity that is a culmination and a meeting
point of north and South American flora and fauna. From rainforests
to tropical forests to dryforest, you name it and this Park houses
'em all. But this very unusual terrain makes it all the more
appealing for hikers and backpackers to spend time here. The place
was accorded the status of world Heritage site in the year 1982. In
La Amistad International Park, you would also find Costa Ricans
dressed in traditional clothing.
Terrain
The Park has a jagged terrain. On one hand there are ranges
stemming from the Caribbean to the height of 150m and on the other
hand are its highest points Cerro Kamuk rising to as high as 3549m
and Cerro Durika measuring 3280m. Such wide variations in the
terrain have resulted in differing forest ranges covering this
range. The park doesn't boast of many facilities and the ones who
take the onus of discovering it have to do it of their own accord,
although taking a guide is recommended.
Animal Species
This park has one of the nation's largest populations of tapirs.
There are mammals here in abundance like tapirs, jaguars,
peccaries, anteaters, armadillos, pacas, deer, white-faced monkeys,
howler monkeys, sloths, and agoutis, to name a few of them. The
number of species of birds found in the park is 300. The La Amistad
International Park has some 263 species of reptiles and amphibians,
lizards and salamanders are the more commonly found here. There are
about 6 species of felines found here.
Flora
 There is
a great range of flora and fauna dotting this place due to the
variations in heights, climate, drainage and topography. The scape
of vegetation keeps on changing from wet forests to cloud forests
to the short and stunted vegetation. This place faces six
transitional zones. The trees found here commonly are small
cypress, sweet cedar, silk cotton, black oak, white oak, batamba
and dwarf madrono. The La Amistad International Park has one of the
largest virgin forests in Costa Rica.
Area
This huge park stretches over to the area of 193,929 hectares. A
huge area of the park extends into international frontiers of
Panama as well. This place has more forests than any other parks
and it covers almost two-thirds of total species inhabiting Costa
Rica.
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