National Parks of Costa Rica
Guanacaste Conservation Area
Rincon de la Vieja National Park
Area: 14,083 Ha.
It is located on the Guanacaste Volcanic Mountain Range; 27 Km northeast of Liberia.
The Rincón de la Vieja massif, 1,916 meters high, is a composite structure. Nine eruptive spots have been identified on its peak.
The most recent eruptions took place at the beginning of 1998. Today, Rincón de la Vieja still has fumarole activity.
The areas, called Las pailas and Las Hornillas, area at the foot of the volcano, on the south side, stretch over some 50 hectares.
One of the major advantages of this area is the protection afforded to the vast natural watershed system. The park contains what is probably the largest existing growth of the national flower "guaria morada"(purple orchid found in the wild.
There are also hot springs which give rise to very hot mountain streams; sulfuric ponds with smallmud-filled depressions which bubble continuously; geysers releasing jets of steam, particularly during the rainy season; and mud cones in all shapes and sizes. A small freshwater lake lies south of the main crater.
This national park contains diverse hatitats, produced by the differences in altitud and rainfall, the effect of volcanic eruptions and the type of slope.
In the lower regions, trees include the Guanacaste, freijo, gumbo-limbo, bitter cedar and capulin. In the central region, between 1,200 and 1,400 meters, the most abundant trees are the cupey, mamwood, clabash, jicaro danto and didymopanax.
Beginning at 1,400 meters and continuing up to near the peak, the woods are low and the densely-branched trees are covered with mosses and other epiphytes. The most common trees are the cupey, didymopanax and crespon.
The peak of the volcano is covered with ash and has very sparse vegetation. Plants include the cupey and the poor man's umbrella. The tapir, highland tinamous, black guan and several cat species are very numerous in this region.
Within the park, 257 species of birds have ben sighted, including the three-wattled bellbird, great curassow, black-faced solitaire, Montezuma oropendola, bank swallow, emerald toucanet, elegant tragon, blue-throated goldentail, spectacled owl, white-fronted amazon and guaco.
Some other mammals found here include the red brocket deer, collared peccary, agouti, tayra, Northern tamandua, two-toed sloth,and howler, white-faced and spider monkeys. Insects are very numerous and include four species of the abundant and beautiful morpho butterflies.
