And finally, protected forests are great places to farm butterflies for sale to overseas zoos and hothouses. The preserve offers biologist guided tours through the forest. You have to traverse 15 kilometers of something that occasionally passes for a road via tractor, fording two rivers on the way. We don't carry Rara Avis in our hotel program, but you can contact them via fax at 53-0844. They can also provide you with camping and admission information, as well as which parks require permits.
Many people think that all of Central America is covered in lush, green rainforest.
Altitude causes these differences, controlling humidity and temperature. Rain shadow is another major factor,leaving the Atlantic side of Costa Rica generally wetter. In fact, because Central America lies at the crossroads of major climatic regions, it holds over half of the world's flora and fauna species, most of which have not even been discovered. In the rainforest it's dark and thick with trees hundreds of feet tall. And every plant here has a system for soaking water up as quickly as possible, often in the form of porous roots .