GEOGRAPHY

Along a mountainous formation that extends lengthwise, beginning at the northernmost territory and ending at the country’s southern tip, we find three mountain ranges and nine active volcanoes. Among these, Arenal Volcano stands out, offering singular fireworks at nighttime; others portray a unique beauty, such as Irazú with its impressive scenery, and Poás, displaying one of the largest craters in the world. An extremely changing landscape tied to a vast forest and microclimate diversity, temperate beaches, rivers with abundant water currents along the three main littorals, and an extensive concentration of natural resources— all characterize Costa Rica.

TERRITORY

Our territorial extension is 51,000 square kilometers. At approximately 75 miles (120Km) between the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean, at its narrowest end, it borders with Nicaragua to the north and with Panama to the south.

POPULATION

4,300,000 Inhabitants

CLIMATE

It is said there are only two existing seasons in Costa Rica: a rainy season which goes from May through November, and a dry season beginning in December and lasting through the end of April. The average temperature in the Central Valley is 72^o F (22^oC), while on the coasts and beaches it varies between 70 and 90^oF (21and 31^oC).

CAPITAL

The capital is the city of San José, with approximately 1 million inhabitants.

GOVERNMENT

Costa Rica has enjoyed one of the oldest and most stable democracies in Latin America since 1948; with the promulgation of a new political constitution, the army was abolished in that year. Its representative form of government is made up of three powers: an Executive, a Legislative and a Judicial. The President is elected by popular vote every four years.

LANGUAGE

Spanish and conversational English— spoken in most tourist centers.

CURRENCY AND LOCAL TAXES

The official currency is the Colón. Traveler checks, credit cards and dollars are accepted in the majority of tourist and commercial establishments. Some banks, hotels and travel agencies have recently begun taking Euros. The country’s departure tax is US$26.00. The occupation tax is currently 16.4%, while food and beverage taxes amount to 23%, which includes a 10% service tax.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

For those interested in visiting Costa Rica, it is recommended to contact the Costa Rican Embassy or Consulate in their residing country, to learn about all of the necessary entry procedures. A current Visa is necessary only if required for a traveler’s residing country, along with a valid passport and a tourist card, which may be acquired at the counter where the ticket is purchased.

PUBLIC SERVICES

Electricity is measured in 110 volts. The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), a governmental entity, oversees telecommunications services. A modern telecommunications network encompasses: direct communication to the rest of the world through an automatic telephone system called MIDA, telex service, telegram, faxing, cellular, Internet and data transmission by means of satellites and microwaves. The international long-distance country code is 506; most public phones operate with a pre-paid card, and others take 10 and 20 colon currency.

TRANSPORTATION

International Air Transportation: All air traffic to and from Costa Rica is handled through the Juan Santamaría International Airport, located 29 minutes from San José, in the city of Alajuela.

Domestic Air Transportation: All flights leave from the International Juan Santamaría Airport or the Tobías Bolaños Airport. There is a network of internal airports which not only serve important cities, but special interest tourist areas. From the Tobías Bolaños Airport, located to the west of the capital city, private airlines with twin-engine airplanes for five passengers or more, offer charter flights anywhere in the country.

Domestic Bus Service: The country, in general, offers an adequate bus service. The majority are private companies which link San José with the principal provincial towns and cities, seaports and tourist areas. With good-quality vehicles and frequent itineraries, the user can easily travel throughout the country, leaving from different bus terminals. In the main cities and villages nationwide, there are taxicab companies that service the user to the more remote places in the country. Four-wheel drive vehicles are typical for the rural areas.

International Bus Service: Leaving from San José, there is bus service to Central America and Panama. The companies TRACOPA, TICA BUS, TRANSNICA, and PANALINE, have scheduled trips to Panama, Nicaragua and other countries in the area.

Automobile Circulation: Costa Rica has a good highway network, the majority of which, for tourist use, is paved. In the major highways there are toll booths (San José-San Ramón, San José-Guápiles, San José-Cartago, San José-Ciudad Colón). Throughout the country there are plenty of gas stations, some of which offer round-the-clock service. Costa Rica does not have self-service gas stations.

Driver Requirements: A foreigner may drive with a current license from his country of origin and his passport, for a period of three months, while his tourist visa is in force.
The warning triangles should be carried at all times by all drivers, and seat belts are also required for drivers and front-seat passengers. The use of helmets for motorcycle conductors is required.

MEDICAL FACILITIES

Hospitals: Any foreigner who is temporarily in the country has the right to receive health attention at hospitals and clinics in case of an emergency, sudden illness or a chronic disease. Costa Rica boasts a modern and renown medical health system, under the administration of the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS).

IMPORTANT PHONE NUMBERS

Hospital San Juan de Dios: 2257-6282

Hospital México: 2242-6700

Hospital Dr. Calderón Guardia: 2257-7922

Hospital Nacional de Niños: 2222-0122

Centro de Intoxicaciones: 2223-1028

Red Cross: 2233-7033

Emergencies: 911

AIRPORTS

Juan Santamaría International Airport: 2437-2400

Limón International Airport: 2758-1379

Tobías Bolaños International Airport: 2232-2820

Daniel Oduber International Airport (Liberia, Guanacaste): 2668-1010

FESTIVE DAYS/HOLIDAYS

January 01 New Year’s Day
Good Thursday & Friday Holy Week
April 11 Juan Santamaría’s Day (National Hero)
May 01 Worker’s Day
July 25 Guanacaste’s Annexation Day
August 02 Virgin of los Angeles Day
August 15 Mother’s Day
September 15 Independence Day
October 12 America’s Discovery
December 25 Christmas Da

NATIONAL PARKS

Costa Rica is truly blessed by having approximately 25% of its territory under the protection of a system of national reserves and parks. Most of these protected areas, which total seventy five, were established as such in the last thirty years. These areas contain approximately four percent of the world's flora, fauna and ecosystems, such as the rainforest, swamps, mangroves, dry forests, and several others.

There are also biological reserves, national wildlife refuges and privately owned reserves which are considered as parks. A park is defined as a large expanse of land (usually 1000 hectares or more), which intends the conservation of an ecosystem or an area of scenic value. They include volcanoes (Volcan Poás, Volcan Irazú), many beaches or coastal areas (Tortuguero, Cahuita), rainforests (Braulio Carrillo), and even some islands.

Unlike parks, a biological reserve is more interested in protecting an ecosystem and its organisms, than a scenic or historical area. A National wildlife refuge or Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre o Refugio Nacional de Fauna Silvestre, is practically the same as a biological reserve, but it's usually less demarcated and there are very few services or rangers. You may find some examples of these in Ostional( a beach for turtles nesting ), Curu ( artificial reefs) and Barra del Colorado- (area destined to protect mammals, marine life and over 400 species of birds).

There are several privately owned reserves, which are very well managed. One of the most famous of these reserves is the Monteverde cloudforest reserve, which was founded by the foreign Quaker community that settled it. Even though the entrance fee that is charged in the reserves doesn't go to the government (as in the other protected areas), the funds are properly reinvested in local projects.

In recent years, Costa Rican's governmental leaders and their parties have passed important legislation for the conservation of parks. Most of the governmental efforts for the conservation of land are due to the initial campaign of the sixties and to the growing universal consciousness for the environment. Economic reasons are also part of these decisions, since eco-tourism has become one of the most important industries of Costa Rica.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF COSTA RICA

When Columbus arrived near Limón on September 18, 1502 on his third and last voyage to the Americas, there were probably no more than 20,000 indigenous. There is little sign of major communities and none of the impressive stone architecture that characterized the more advanced civilizations of Mesoamerica to the north and the Andes to the south.
The Indians gave Columbus gold and he returned to Europe with reports of a plentiful supply of the yellow metal. In 1562, the Spanish main's administrative center in Guatemala sent Juan Vasquez de Coronado to Costa Rica as governor and Cartago was established as the capital the following year. With no Indian slaves to work the land, the colonists were forced to work the land themselves. The impoverished colony grew slowly and was virtually ignored by the Spanish rulers in Guatemala. By the late 18th century, the settlements had been founded and exports of wheat and tobacco were making economic conditions somewhat better.

Central America gained independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. The news reached Costa Rica a month after the event. The question of whether Costa Rica should join newly independent Mexico or join a new confederation of Central American states resulted in a bitter quarrel between the leaders of San Jose and their counterparts in Cartago and Heredia. A brief civil war in 1823 was won by San Jose and Costa Rica joined the confederation.

Juan Mora Fernandez was elected the country's first head of state in 1824. His progressive administration expanded public education and encouraged the cultivation of coffee with land grants for growers. This quickly led to the establishment of a new Costa Rican elite, the coffee barons, who quickly put their power to use by overthrowing the first Costa Rican president, José María Castro Madriz. His successor, Juan Rafael Mora, is remembered as the man who mobilized a force of Costa Rican volunteers and defeated William Walker, ending the persistent North American adventurer's ambitions to turn Central America into a slave state and annex it to the United States.

After more than a decade of political turmoil, General Tomás Guardia seized power in 1870. Though he ruled as a military dictator, his 12 years in power were marked by progressive policies like free and compulsory primary education, restraining the excesses of the military and taxing coffee earnings to finance public works. It was Guardia who contracted Minor Keith to build the Atlantic railroad from San Jose to the Caribbean. The post-Guardia years witnessed the fitful transition to full democracy.

The next important era began with the election of Dr. Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia in 1940. His enlightened policies included land reform, a guaranteed minimum wage and progressive taxation. But when Calderón's United Social Christian Party refused to step down after losing the 1948 election, civil war erupted. The anti-Calderón forces were led by Jose María (Don Pepe) Figueres Ferrer who had been exiled to Mexico in 1942. Supported by the governments of Guatemala and Cuba, he won the war which lasted 40 days and cost 2,000 lives.

Figueres became head of the Founding Junta of the Second Republic of Costa Rica. He consolidated the reforms introduced by Calderón and introduced many of his own: He banned the Communist Party, gave women the vote and granted full citizenship to blacks, abolished the armed forces, established a term limit for presidents and nationalized the banks and insurance companies.