Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula

Scarlet macaws screech through canopy layers where a single tree can host more species than entire northern forests. The Osa Peninsula packs 2.5% of Earth's biodiversity into just 0.001% of its surface - a biological intensity unmatched anywhere else. Here, jaguars pad through forests where trees grow buttress roots like cathedral walls and poison dart frogs advertise danger in electric blues and reds. All four Costa Rican monkey species swing through branches above tapirs browsing the forest floor. Humpback whales breach offshore while sea turtles nest on volcanic sand beaches. Corcovado National Park anchors this biodiversity fortress, earning praise as the most biologically intense place on the planet from National Geographic. Eco-lodges built from fallen trees employ former gold miners as naturalist guides. Sustainable tourism dollars flow directly to local communities who chose conservation over logging. Research stations welcome volunteers to study everything from bat echolocation to medicinal plants used by indigenous peoples for millennia.

Water Features

Pacific coastline, rivers, waterfalls

Ecosystem

This destination features a tropical rainforest ecosystem.