The Osa Peninsula: Corcovado and Golfo Dulce

The Osa Peninsula, in the far southwest, is the wildest corner of Costa Rica and one of the most biologically rich places on Earth. Its heart is Corcovado National Park, which protects 424 square kilometres of primary rainforest, the largest of its kind on the Central American Pacific. The forest shelters jaguars, Baird's tapirs, giant anteaters, scarlet macaws and all four Costa Rican monkey species. Offshore, the Isla del Caño Biological Reserve offers some of the best diving in the country, while the Térraba-Sierpe mangroves form the largest wetland of their kind in Costa Rica. The peninsula shelters the Golfo Dulce, one of the few tropical fjord-like gulfs in the world. The region asks for a little more planning, and access to Corcovado requires a certified guide.