CREN, since 2002, Experts in Corcovado National Park and Osa Peninsula
If you are planning to visit Costa Rica we would like you to have the most extraordinary experience by visitng with our advise. The information we bring is about the Corcovado National Park, the last remaining Pacific lowland rainforest of sustainable size in Central America. Located on the Osa Peninsula in southwestern Costa Rica, Corcovado is the "crown jewel" of a world-renowned national park system. Including thirteen separate ecosystems, almost one hundred species of trees and nearly four hundred species of birds, Corcovado has been called "the most biologically intense place on earth" by no less an authority than the National Geographic Society. Here among the largest trees of Costa Rica, can be found the densest population of tapirs, jaguars and scarlet macaws in Meso-America.
Corcovado National Park protects the last portion of Tropical Humid Forest of the Mesoamerican Pacific. Due to its geographical location, climate, soil conditions and topography, this area is home to an amazing diversity of biological species. Blessed with such richness, the area has awakened great interest among Costa Rican and foreign scientistis, and its resources are continuously being investigated.The genetical potencial found in the living forms that find refuge in Corcovado could be of invaluable benefit to agriculture, medicine and other equally important fields that seek the well being of humanity.
Until 1978, there was no access by land to the Península and the population in the region was very sparse. In 1975, when Corcovado National Park was created, the 300 farmers who lived in the area were compensated for their land and relocated in other areas. Since then, the park has been destined exclusively to conservation goals, scientific investigation, environmental education and the type of tourism suitable to a National Park. Corcovado is located 368 km from San Jose, following the Pan American Highway south, taking the detour toward Puerto Jimenez at the community of Chacarita. It is also possible to enter by boat from Sierpe.
Corcovado is made up of a unique combination of terrestrial and marine ecosystems which interact in harmony and whose origins science has yet to fully understand. The area as a whole posesses thousands of species of flora, many only found in this area and others which have disappeared from other regions. We can cite the case of the 'ajo' (Caryocar costarricense), the 'ojoche' (Brosimun costaricanum) and the caracolito cedar (Ruptiliocarpon caracolito).
Corcovados diverse fauna is remarkable; many of the species of this region are in danger of extinction, despite the large numbers still found in the region. The red macaw or 'Guacamaya' (Ara macao), the wild boar (Tayassu pecari), the jaguar (Felis onca) and the crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) confirm this fact. Just as in the case of the caracolito tree, in the future, studies could reveal the existence of other unknown species, which if it were not for the conservation of the park, would be lost forever without ever having been described.
