National Parks

CHIRRIPO

Area:
50,150 Terestrial Ha.
193,029 Maritime Ha

Location: Talamanca Mountain Range, provinces of Limon, Cartago and San Jose (Chirripo). La Amistad Park is located in the Talamanca Mountain Range and extends to the Panama border.

Both parks span the most biologically diverse area in Costa Rica and comprise the largest unspoiled forest in the country. An astonishing number of habitats -produced by the differences in altitude, soil, climate and topography- can be found, including paramos, marshlands, oak forests, madrono forests, fern groves and mixed forests.

One of Chirripo's most important geomorphological discoveries is that it has various glacial forms which have been preserved almost intact. They are small U-shaped by the action and movement of the ice masses as much as 30,000 years ago.

Chirripo Peak is the highest mountain in the country, soaring to a height of 3,821 meters. The paramos of this elevation contains many varieties of stunted Andean-type woodland, consisting of shrubs, grasslands and perennial herbaceous plants. One of the most common species found here is the batamba.

The largest trees include oak, sweet cedar, nargusta, elm, Poas magnolia, iera, cypress and manni.

The fauna is astonishingly varied, with 263 species of amphibians and reptiles and about 400 types of birds observed to date. The largest concentration of tapirs in the country can be found here, plus the puma, jaguar, ocelot, jaguaroundi, white-lipped peccary and cacomistle.

The most noteworthy birds include the resplendent quetzal, crested eagle, red-tailed hawk, volcano hummingbird, black guan, crowned wren-thrush, elegant tragon, and acorn woodpecker.