Sarah Jordan (Tico Times) writes about northern Costa Rica’s Palo Verde National Park in Guanacaste province.

Guanacaste province is abundant in wonderful biodiversity and wildlife with endless options of how to spend a gorgeous day out exploring Costa Rica’s beauty and natural environments. Palo Verde National Park is just one of the many examples of great places to discover the country’s abundance of stunning ecosystems and impressive landscape

Located in the northwestern region of Costa Rica in the Nicoya Peninsula, Palo Verde National Park is just a little over an hour from Liberia’s airport sitting on the banks of the Tempisque River, and is a part of the Tempisque Conservation Area.

If your starting point is closer to the San Jose area then your journey could take at least 4 hours so you may want to incorporate this must-see park into a weekend adventure.

Dry Tropical Forest Preservation

Established in 1978 this remote park is sprawling with over 45,000 acres of sanctuary caring for its grasslands and safeguarding the conservation of its wetlands, preserving the mangroves, river habitats, and lagoons as it is protected by the Ramsar Convention.

This protection has allowed the park to flourish, sustaining the wildlife and encouraging the vegetation to maintain its stability. Palo Verde National Park is comprised of Central America’s endangered ecosystem, the dry tropical forest, therefore the preservation of Costa Rica’s deciduous dry forest is of the utmost importance within.

The trees have adapted to the minimal rainfall in the region during parts of the year and survive by shedding their leaves allowing them to conserve their water. A diversity of trees towering over the grounds are found within of cashew trees, the thorny trunked javiloo, the exploited cocobolo that maintains its existence in thanks to protected areas, the flowering ceiba tree, and the sweet-smelling pochete tree. [. . .]

As birds like the white ibis, great egret, wood stork, and the black-bellied whistling duck flock to the limited water areas, you will see a higher concentration of species making it an ideal bird watching destination for thousands of birds. [. . .]

The Tempisque River sustains a large concentration of the crocodile population and the best way to see them in action and to explore Palo Verde National Park is by taking a guided boat tour.

The water tours are not provided by the park, however, are offered by reputable tour companies and locals. The water safari gently guides you down the river taking you on a serene floating tour to see much of the exciting wildlife within the park and experience the tranquility of the surroundings. [. . .]

See full article at https://ticotimes.net/2021/07/18/visiting-costa-ricas-palo-verde-national-park

[Vast wetlands in Palo Verde National Park in Costa Rica’s Pacific region are home to some 60 species of birds. (Alberto Font/The Tico Times.]