The Osa Peninsula is considered the most preserved and fascinating region of Costa Rica. It has been presented by the National Geographic as “The most intense biologically place on earth” with more than 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity. It consists mainly of forest (the largest tropical rainforest on the Pacific coast) and is home to many endemic and/or endangered plant and animal species such as Baird’s tapir, jaguar, puma, ocelot… and half of the birds visible in Costa Rica.
Puerto Jimenez
This typical village is 6 km from Punta Preciosa. It has many restaurants, bars, shops… but also a post office, banks, cash machines, a clinic, a petrol station, a police station, an airport…
Playa Platanares
Punta Preciosa se trouve sur Playa Platanares, La plage est souvent déserte et la partie se trouvant devant Punta Preciosa est parfaite pour la baignade. La plage est une zone de nidification des tortues.
Golfo Dulce
Commander Cousteau referred to Golfo Dulce as a “tropical fjord”. He said there are four such fjords in the world, in Venezuela, the Galapagos Islands and Indonesia.
It is 51 km long and about 13 km wide. Its maximum depth is about 200 m (the 10th deepest in the world). On the other hand, the entrance to the gulf is shallower and protects it from the strong Pacific currents, thus favouring the calmness of its waters. The absence of industry and/or large urban areas also explains their purity. Finally, the importance of the contribution of the rivers which so discharge explains why the surface water is less salty than that of the ocean. One of the peculiarities of the Gulf is that the tropical rainforest is in contact with the sea .
The gulf is home to two species of dolphins, three species of sea turtles, whale sharks… Humpback whales come here to “mother”….
Parc national Corcovado
With 54,000 hectares, Corcovado covers a large part of the Osa Peninsula.
8 habitat types are listed within the Park and 13 different ecosystems. It is home to more than 15313 species of plants, 500 trees, 140 mammals, 367 birds, 117 reptiles or amphibians, 40 fish and 6000 different insects. It is also home to the 4 species of primates present in Costa Rica.
Mangrove du rio Platanares
Mangroves are an ecosystem in tropical latitudes found in areas near the mouths of freshwater rivers and the sea. This ecosystem is home to flora and fauna that have adapted to land flooded by salt water at each high tide. The mangrove is composed of several species of plants that have developed characteristics such as: tolerance to high levels of salinity; water desalination systems, aerial roots that stabilize the tree in soft soil; floating seeds. Among these plants, about eight species of mangroves. It is also home to an extraordinary fauna: monkeys, raccoons, iguanas, birds, crocodiles, caimans, butterflies, crabs… The Platanares River and the mangrove are protected in the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Preciosa Platanares.
Refugio de vida silvestre Platanares Preciosa
Punta Preciosa is located in the heart of the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Preciosa Platanares. A protected area that links the Corcovado National Park and the Reserva Golfo Dulce. It consists of jungle, beaches and mangroves. One of its objectives is the protection of the unique and fascinating mangrove ecosystem.