The recent inclusion of certain Costa Rican regions in Time Out ‘s list of underrated destinations marks a turning point in the perception of this Central American territory. Beyond the established circuits formed by Tortuguero, the Arenal volcano or the Corcovado, Costa Rica is orchestrating a strategic redistribution of its tourist flows towards confidential areas of biodiversity. This approach, spearheaded by the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism (ICT), goes beyond simple territorial promotion to embrace a logic of active conservation: relieving the pressure on emblematic sites by enhancing the value of equally complex peripheral ecosystems.
This desire for decentralization brings to light geological and plant architectures that are often overlooked. In the province of Guanacaste, Barra Honda National Park breaks with the classic tropical imagination with its network of limestone caves and dry reliefs, offering a vertical reading of the landscape. Further northwest, Santa Rosa National Park protects an ecosystem that has become rare in Central America: tropical dry forest, which here rubs shoulders with savannahs and marine areas where olive ridley turtles lay their eggs. In contrast, on the Caribbean side, Barbilla National Park is a sanctuary of chlorophyll density, a rainforest preserved from anthropogenic noise and as yet little documented.
The experience of the territory is also expressed through a different temporality, that of rural valleys and intermediate reliefs. The Orosí valley, in Cartago province, bears witness to a persistent colonial heritage amidst coffee plantations, imposing a contemplative rhythm. At altitude, in the Talamanca mountain range, San Gerardo de Dota offers the hushed atmosphere of cloud forests, the preferred habitat of the resplendent quetzal, contrasting with the heat of the volcanic plains. This alternative cartography also includes La Amistad International Park, a wilderness shared with Panama where primary forests and indigenous communities remain , as well as Piedras Blancas National Park, a silent response to the effervescence of Corcovado. By promoting these itineraries, Costa Rica is not only diversifying its offer; it is also reaffirming a model of sustainable tourism in which travellers contribute, through their measured presence, to the well-being of local communities and the sustainability of natural areas.
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