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17 of the best places to see wildlife in Costa Rica
Land of tropical rainforests, cloud-covered volcanoes and Caribbean and Pacific coasts that form a highway for migrating whales, Costa Rica is an intensely rewarding destination for wildlife lovers. Around half a million species of wild animals await in its national parks, wildlife refuges, biological reserves and protected areas designed to promote ecotourism. Thanks to anti-logging laws brought in by the government in the 80s and 90s, Central America's 'rich coast' is the first tropical country to have reversed deforestation, returning 60 per cent of its terrain to tree cover. Which is good news not just for travellers hoping to enjoy sightings of creatures such as the emoji-inspiring blue morpho butterfly, giant anteater and jaguar in their natural habitats, but for the planet, too.
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The sloth is a Costa Rican curiosity: though they spend most of their lives in the trees, evolutionarily speaking they're actually most closely related to the anteater. Two types of sloth can be seen creeping around the treetops: the three-toed and two-toed sloth. Their favourite food is the cecropia tree, so theoretically they can be seen anywhere the tree grows. For a reliable sighting, look for them particularly in the canopy of the popular Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, three hours' south of San Jose, or better still in the forests of the Osa Peninsula on the Pacific coast. For sighting certainty, visit the Sloth Sanctuary, 30 minutes south of the east-coast city of Limon, where rescued sloths live out their days in safety. Sanctuary staff offer excellent talks and tours.
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The cheeky capuchin has a reputation for dexterity thanks to its astonishingly mobile prehensile tail, which it essentially uses as an extra limb. They're easily identified thanks to their shaggy white face and shoulders. Keep your eye on them; they're also notorious pickpockets and will happily pinch anything they can get their little hands on. Howler monkeys are the foghorns of the tropical forest, with a distinctive whooping call that echoes for miles through the canopy. Both monkeys are common, especially inside national parks, but the forested slopes around Volcan Arenal are generally less crowded than the better-known parks.
Surely the showiest bird in Costa Rica is the extravagantly coloured (and equally extravagantly named) resplendent quetzal, with its gleaming green plumage and crimson breast. Its feathers were prized by the Aztecs and Mayans, and the bird also had mythological significance. The prime time for viewing is the breeding season between March and June; try the Monteverde Cloud Forest, or better still the Parque Nacional Los Quetzales, a 50 sq km patch of cloud forest on the flanks of the Cordillera de Talamanca, about 120km southeast of San Jose.
Cahuita can be busy, but for a quick nature hit it's great — it has a mix of ecosystems, including coast, beach, reef and rainforest. Iguanas can be seen lounging around on logs and basking on the riverbanks, especially early in the day when they need to warm up their blood. Cahuita is also an important turtle nesting site. Avoid weekends, which can be overcrowded — early mornings or late evenings during the week are usually quieter.
Is this Costa Rica's cutest monkey? Many people think so, thanks to their diminutive dimensions and playful antics: they like to wander around in family groups and watching them interact with each other is enormously entertaining. They primarily live on the Pacific coast: the Nicoya Peninsula and Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio have decent numbers, although the monkeys are more shy than capuchins and howler monkeys, meaning you'll have to be patient if you want to see them.
This bright blue butterfly — between 12.5cm and 20cm wide — is one of Costa Rica's largest. It's a beautiful presence in many of the country's forests, but it can be tricky to see them in the wild, so visiting a dedicated butterfly observatory or breeding centre is usually a better bet. Blue morphos can be seen at the Butterfly Conservatory in El Castillo and the excellent Ecocentro Danaus in La Fortuna, which is also a good place to see poison dart frogs.
Crocodiles and caimans can be spotted all across Costa Rica's lowland wetlands on both coasts, with the crocs reaching up to a colossal 6m in length and caimans (distinguishable by their shorter, wider snout) usually shorter. But for a surefire, up-close encounter with the crocodylus acutus, head to the Tarcoles River, whose brackish waters and pebbly banks are home to one of the largest American crocodile populations in the world. Crocodile Bridge, on Route 34, around a 90-minute drive south of San Jose and half an hour north of surf town Jaco, offers a thrilling vantage point, as well as a cluster of pit stop-friendly soda restaurants, ice-cream parlours and souvenir shops.
While not as cute as the squirrel monkey or show-stopping as the jaguar, the blue land crab, aka Halloween, whitespot, moon or harlequin crab, serves up one of Costa Rica's most surprising wildlife 'wows'. Emerging in their droves after dark — all powerful purple claws, orange legs and ghostly yellow spots that resemble eyes — they mobilise noisily through the steamy coastal jungle within 1km of the country's Pacific coast (the Osa Peninsula and Playa Uvita being hotspots), marching determinedly over anything that gets in their way, including the feet of any passing humans. The engineers of the tropical rainforest ecosystem, they play a crucial role in driving tree renewal through aerating the soil, removing leaf litter and creating carbon-rich microhabitats.
This west-coast marine park, and the spit of land to the south (especially around Drake Bay) are whale-watching hotspots. These mighty mammals migrate to Costa Rica's Pacific coast to breed and give birth — very unusually, from both the northern and southern hemispheres, giving an unusually long whale-watching season. July to November is the peak time for the southern migration, when whales travel from as far away as Antarctica, while December to April is the peak time for the northern migration, mainly from the waters of the northwest US and Canada. Operators accredited by Certificación para la Sostenibilidad Turística (CST), a government-controlled rating system for sustainable practices, include Ballena Aventura, Dolphin Tour and Ballena Infocenter.
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There are 18 different parrot species in Costa Rica, but most distinctive of all is the scarlet macaw, whose flame-feathered finery makes them easy to spot (you'll hear them long before you see them as they're also famous for their screechingly loud squawk). Scarlet macaws are fairly easy to see in Parque Nacional Carara and around the Osa Peninsula, but their cousins, the great green macaws, are altogether rarer: only around 500 of these birds remain, mainly in the forests of the north and Caribbean coast, especially around Tortuguero. To support macaw conservation, visit the excellent Punta Islita Wild Macaw Reserve on the Nicoya Peninsula; tours are run by staff from the Macaw Recovery Network.
It must be the busiest bird in existence — and Costa Rica is home to more than 50 species of hummingbird. They're a vital part of the ecosystem, pollinating many types of flowers and plants, including rare endemic orchids. Costa Rica's unique cloud forests are the top places to see them — particularly at Reserva Biologica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde (the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve), an oasis of biodiversity established in the 1970s in the mountains inland from Puntarenas by a partnership between scientists and indigenous people. Professional naturalists lead tours into the reserve, which also has its own basic residential lodge if you feel like spending more time here. The reserve is roughly equidistant from San Jose and Liberia.
These prodigiously beaked birds are distinctive, but you'll need expertise to tell the six different species apart. Best-known is the keel-billed, or rainbow-billed toucan, which has the classic multicoloured beak. Different species concentrate in different areas: for keel-billed toucan and yellow-eared toucanets try Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio; for fiery-billed aracari and chestnut-mandibled toucans, head to Tortuguero or Parque Nacional Corcovado; for collared toucans try Cahuita; and for emerald toucanets go to the Monteverde Cloud Forest.
The waterways of this tropical coastal park are home to a prodigious variety of life. Crocodiles and caimans lounge around on the banks, spider monkeys frolic through the trees and tree frogs can be spied in the foliage, but the park's prize animals are the green sea turtles, for whom the park is an important nesting site. Prized by unscrupulous collectors, the eggs are protected by coastal rangers and conservation staff as well as an army of volunteers (it's a popular place for an eco holiday). July and August are the peak months for turtles, but the season often runs into October. The park is best explored by kayak or canoe — you'll feel like Indiana Jones paddling along its creeper-covered backwaters.
Covering more than two-fifths of the Osa Peninsula, Corcovado is as close as Costa Rica gets to the Garden of Eden. This magnificent tropical rainforest is one of the few remnants of the primary tropical forest that once cloaked much of Central America. As such, it's also a precious oasis of biodiversity and a refuge for many of the rarest and most endangered animals in Costa Rica, including the Baird's tapir, the giant anteater and, most charismatic and elusive of all, the jaguar. They're incredibly hard to spot, and extremely rare, so you will almost certainly need an experienced local guide — and a massive dose of luck — to see one. But don't be disappointed if you don't: Corcovado's incredible wildlife astounds, even by Costa Rican's stellar standards. Lodges such as Ecoturístico La Tarde can put you in touch with local nature guides. For a 100 per cent guaranteed cat-sighting, head for the Las Pumas Rescue Centre, which rehabilitates cats before returning them back to the wild.
These great ocean cruisers — the largest fish on the planet — can reach 18m in length and weigh in excess of 30 tons. They can be elusive visitors in Costa Rica, although most often show up in the waters off the Reserva Biologica Isla del Canõ. Diving and snorkelling operators are your best bet for seeing them: try Bahia Aventuras in Uvita, who also run whale and dolphin-spotting tours into Parque Nacional Marino Ballena.
Legendary for its waterbirds — and its voracious mosquitoes — this 198 sq km wetland at the head of the Golfo de Nicoya offers a variety of habitats, including mangrove forests, savannahs, marshes and coastal woodlands. It's brilliant for birders, with everything from egrets and spoonbills to storks, ibises and night herons flocking here: December to March, the dry season, is best for bird-spotting, as species cluster together in smaller areas. The park also has Costa Rica's largest population of jaguarundi, the slender wild cats whose long tail and small head give rise to its nickname of 'otter cat'. Boat tours and night-time wildlife walks can be arranged through the OTS Hacienda Palo Verde Ranger Station.
Related to the raccoon, but with a longer snout and skinnier tail, coatis (or coatimundis) can be spied nosing around in the undergrowth pretty much everywhere you travel in Costa Rica, especially in early morning and late evening. They're cute, but they can be a bit of a nuisance, raiding bins and unguarded food, so resist the temptation to feed them.
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Overtourism and unscrupulous operators are as rife in Costa Rica as anywhere, which is why it's doubly important to research your experiences carefully before choosing. It's a bit of a minefield, but in general:
• Look for a high 'leaf' rating from the CST. Five leaves is best.
• Enquire about partnerships with local conservation groups and ecotourism initiatives.
• Aim to choose a business that has good grassroots connections and employs local workers.
• Ask lots of questions. If the business can't answer them satisfactorily, look elsewhere. Try to get recommendations from reliable sources, such as conservation charities and ecotourism specialists.
Additional reporting by Imogen Lepere and Julie Alpine
