Costa Rica: Why it features in my bucket list?

Costa Rica…This country simply takes my breath away. I haven’t been to this country as yet, but I just took a look at this ‘Discover Costa Rica’ #justsayyes video and all I can say is ‘WOW’. This video makes you wanna say ‘YES’ to packing your bags and visiting this exotic destination. Abundant nature, volcanoes, gorgeous bird watching, rich overland and underwater wildlife and great adventure…Costa Rica seems to have everything that I like in my holidays. May be, I will pack my bags soon and head to this country. If I do, these would be the broad attractions for me.



Bio Diverse Forests



I am a sucker for pristine nature. And Costa Rica seems to have this in riches with rainforests, cloud forests and dry forests. It’s national parks and protected areas cover 23.4% of the country’s land area, which is the largest for any country in the world. It is home to the mighty  Arenal volcano, other active volcanoes like Poas and Irazus, stunning waterfalls, beautiful beaches on both the Caribbean and the Pacific coasts, volcanic lakes and spectacular coastlines.

Rich Wildlife and Bird Watching


The wildlife enthusiast and birder in me is all ready with his prime lenses and binoculars when he senses the potential to see gorgeous rare bird species like the chestnut-mandibled toucan, scarlet macaw and green parrot, the bright colored poison dart frogs and/or the elusive jaguar. Costa Rica possesses  the greatest density of species in the world and that in itself is reason enough for me to visit this country.

Adventure Activities



Zip lining through the tropical rain forests, Class II, II and IV white water rafting, scuba diving, surfing, kayaking, stand up paddling, mountain biking and many more high adrenaline activities are on offer here. Zip lining over the rainforest canopy is something that appeals to me the most. How can I forget the volcano treks? The volcanoes are one of the main reasons for me wanting to visit and explore Costa Rica. I am in total awe of this raw and powerful creation of mother nature.

Pristine Beaches

Who doesn’t like a long stretch of pristine white sand with swaying palms and lapping waves? The Caribbean and the Pacific beaches are where I would head to when I feel the need to get some rest after all the high energy activities. My friends who have been to Costa Rica tell me that the beaches near Corcovado National Park on the South Pacific coast and the ones on the Caribbean side offer a more exotic and off-beat beach holiday.

By now, I hope you can understand why I am so excited about this Central American tropical gem. May be, you should add Costa Rica to your travel bucket list while I start planning my logistics to visit this amazing country. And just so you know, Costa Rica, with its great tourist infrastructure is not just for backpackers and hardcore travelers like its neighbors, but it appeals to everyone from honeymooners, couples, families with kids, elderly and basically all kinds of travelers!

Note: The images in this post have been borrowed from wikipedia.org under the Creative Commons License. All images have been linked to their respective source page on wikipedia.