Quite simply one of the most beautiful parks of Costa Rica , Nacional Rincón of Vieja has really very to like T to the lovers of nature and the followers of the pedestrian excursion Park it. Curious thing, it is only the ninth park more visited country. You will find there landscapes splendid, from the points of view of époustouflants, a volcano which has character, alleviating rivers, of the spectacular falls, releasing thermal springs, the places of bathe, the surfaces of picnic, the campsites, the paths marked out well as well as a quite detailed documentation.

Parks Nacional Rincón of Vieja, from a surface of 14084 ha, extends to approximately 25 km in the North-East from the town of Liberia, capital of the province of Guanacaste. It is divided into two sectors, Las Pailas and Santa María, which are distant one from the other of approximately 8 km. The park was created on October 23, 1973 with an aim of protecting the many sources from water which feed a part of the province as well as great floral and faunal diversity that one finds there.

The Rincón volcano of Vieja, composed of nine craters, since always made speak about him. Thus, at one remote time, it is known as that the volcano was so often in eruption which it was used as headlight to the navigators who went along the coast of the Pacific! But more probable undoubtedly are the first reports/ratios of observation, going back to 1851, making state of eruptions, ashes and smoke. To the wire of the decades, many eruptions without gravity were thus reported. Then, around 1967, of the more serious eruptions, implying stone falls of rather good dimensions (until 2kg), made fear the worst with the inhabitants of the immediate surroundings of the volcano. Several forests and meadows were destroyed, and certain rivers were polluted by the pollutant gas emissions.

In 1983 and 1984, then in 1991 and again in 1995, other eruptions confirmed that the volcano "spit" regularly, as if he wanted to mean that he can, constantly, to break out. The last eruption goes back to it occurred in spring 1998 and affected the northern slope more, that is to say that giving on Nicaragua, this slope being a quasi uninhabited zone.

The various levels of altitude of the park, which go 600 m to nearly 2 000 m, support a flora the most diversified of. Many water precipitations and the volcanic ash also contribute to the development of this natural richness. Between 600 m and 1 200 m of altitude, are the forest dry, made up, inter alia, of gasolines such as the guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), the laurel (Cedrela odorata) and the cedro amargo (Cedrela odonta). Between 1 200 m and 1400m of altitude, the wet forest receives an abundant rain and one observes there many copeys (Clusia rosea), trees adapted well to this area. Beyond 1400m of altitude, the trees become rabougris, then make place with the shrubs and the foam carpets.

The fauna of the park is as varied as attractive. With a little chance, and if you remain quiet, you will be able to see iguanas, agoutis, coatis, monkeys hurleurs, monkeys capuchins with white face and monkey-spiders. Observable with more difficulty, but nevertheless present in the park, are armadillos (armadillos), tapirs of Baird, peccaries, ocelots, pumas and jaguars. Winged fauna is also well represented, with some 300 species, in particular of the parrots, the toucans, of trogons (sometimes the quetzal), of the bird-flies, the doves, the peaks, the owls and the eagles. You will surprise there also superb butterflies.