Nearby National Parks

Braulio Carillo National Park

This is the closest national park to the San Jose metro area. Less than 20 miles to the north of the city, Braulio Carillo is famous for jagged canyon, fast running rivers, mountains, rainforest, clouds, and of course, rain. The park is named after President Braulio Carillo and was established in the late 1970's.

A prominent feature in the park is the area around the Barva Volcano. Currently not active, the rich soils from past eruptions have allowed a dense rainforest to grow in the region. This in turn has created a habitat that has allowed wildlife in the area to flourish. Towards the top of the volcano a cloud forest has allowed some of the more exotic and rare bird species to thrive.

The climate in the park area varies greatly is can be very unpredictable. In the higher elevations temperatures will range Temperature and rainfall vary greatly and are extremely unpredictable. At higher elevations, temperatures range from 60 - 72 F. Moving to lower elevations (in the direction of the Atlantic) temperature rise significantly and can range from 72- 86 F. To say that rainfall in this region/park is substantial would be an understatement. Current annual rainfall ranges between 155-320 inches per year!

If you want to see what most of Costa Rica looked like just 50 years ago you must visit Braulio Carillo National Park. It is an amazing place.

Much of the information on our site as it relates to Costa Rica is:

Courtesy of Christopher P. Baker and Avalon Travel Publishing.
© 2004 Christopher P. Baker. All Rights Reserved.

A2Z Languages highly recommends Christopher P. Baker's book: Moon Handbooks Costa Rica. Click on the image to visit his website where you can purchase this book or find out more about the author.

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