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Corcovado National Park In Costa Rica - The Tucan Hotel
Corcovado National Park is an
irreplaceable part of the natural wealth of Costa Rica. A lagoon set in a
forested alluvial plain which opens to the Pacific on the west, flanked by
mountains on the east and south and by a low plateau to the north -- Corcovado's 43,735 hectares is home to at least 285 species of
birds, 139 of mammals, 116 of amphibians and
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reptiles, plus countless
insect species. It is a major refuge for the American Crocodile, jaguars,
tapirs, Squirrel Monkeys, giant anteaters, Harpy Eagles, Scarlet Macaws,
and Red-throated Caracaras. Some of the forested areas, such as the
Llorona Plateau, with high densities of large trees, are as species-rich
as any in the Neotropics (over 100 species of trees per hectare).
The canopy height reaches 55-60 meters, the tallest in Costa
Rica.
The relatively small area of this park contains, like
Costa Rica itself, an amazing diversity of habitats. At least 13 different
vegetation associations can be mapped, ranging from floating herbaceous
swamp in the center of the Corcovado Lagoon to the mangroves along
the coast, to high forest on the plateau and the mountains. High diversity
of tree species is characteristic of most habitats within the park.
However, one also finds striking examples of mono-specific stands, such as
the Raphia palm swamp which surrounds the central lagoon, or the
Pterocarpus swamp forest near the mouth of the Llorona River.
The alluvial plain of
Corcovado is
characterized by giant Anacardium excelsum trees (Anacardiaceae)
and Cryosophila, guagara palms (Palmae), as well as many other tree
species. Here one finds beautiful examples of periodically flooded, poorly
drained and well drained forests, where huge lianas ascend some of Central
America's tallest trees (70-80 meters). 