Guanacaste

De Santa Cruz-19 kms sur on the road to the little villages Arado and Retallano.

Part of this area, which encompasses 1,500 hectares, was declared as Diriá National Forest. It was formed about 75 million years ago. The terrain has been carved into deep valleys with very steep slopes by the Rivers Enmedio and Diriá, tributaries of the Tempissque and Nosara, the latter which flows into the western sector of the Nicoya Peninsula.

The objective is to protect, restore and, in the future, manage the remaining forests. There are plans to extend the park to 15,000 hectares to protect the entire system of watersheds in the area.

In the lowlandss there are remains of tropical dry forests with deciduous and semi-deciduous species. Above 700 mts. the predominant species are evergreen with mosses and giant bromeliads. Some of the trees in the valley and ravines are the trumpet tree, cotton wood, gumbo-limbo, ear tree, balsa wood, chicle tree, cedar and palm trees.

The predominant climate is different from that of the Guanacaste lowlands. Above 500 mts. the strong trade winds from the Caribbean blow in cloud fronts that lower temeratures and bring in misty rain, even during the dry season.