National Parks nearby Tamarindo

Palo Verde National Park

is located about 1.5 hours from Tamarindo. Palo Verde’s natural water system has created an environment capable of supporting one of the largest concentrations of waterfowl and wading birds, both native and migratory, in the country and, in fact, in all of Central America.

The forests are the nesting grounds of the endangered jabiru and home to the only colony of scarlet macaws in the Dry Pacific.

Some of the most abundant mammals are the howler and white-faced monkeys, white-nosed coati, white-tailed deer, tree squirrel, and porcupine. Crocodiles up to five meters long have been sighted in the Tempisque River.

Santa Rosa National Park

was created to safeguard its historical significance and its almost 50,000 hectares of coastline, plains and hills serve to protect 115 mammal species (over half of which are bats),100 species of amphibians and reptiles, 253 species of birds and over 10,000 species of insects, including some 3,200 butterflies and moths.

The most attractive mammals are the white-tailed deer, which abound in the area of Santa Elena Bay, together with the white-nosed coati, howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys and collared peccary. Some mammals, such as the jaguar, cougar and tapir, are in danger of extinction.

The tropical dry forests and mangrove swamps provide a refuge for magpie jays, perhaps the most typical bird in the Guanacaste Province, as well as for elegant trogons, orange-fronted parakeets, great curassows and common black-hawks, among other species.

Las Baulas National Park

on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica is one of the world’s few remaining sites of significant leatherback turtle nesting activity. The numbers of these giant, marine reptiles are declining world-wide and they have disappeared completely from many historically important nesting areas.

The park encompasses the beaches of Playa Grande, Playa Tamarindo, Playa Langosta and Playa Ventana to form one of only three marine parks in Costa Rica. Nesting of these great animals takes place November through March and may be viewed when accompanied by a trained guide.

Guanacaste National Park

was created to protect the migratory paths of animals that live in the Santa Rosa park. An exciting new project has been started in the park by the Biodiversity Institute, which hopes to identify every plant and animal species in Costa Rica. There is a biological station in the park which is open to the public.

Rincon de la Vieja National Park

is one of Costa Rica’s most richest, most varied and least known parks. The park is encircled by nine volcanic craters, which erupted over a million years ago. One crater is still active and will spew ash and mud into the sky and down to the rivers to the north of the volcano.

Three hundred species of birds have been identified here as well as deer, coatis, pacas, raccoons, jaguars two-toed sloths and three species of monkeys. The park is located approximately 2 hours from Tamarindo making it a great place for a day trip.