Costa Rica Travel Map


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Costa Rica Travel Map

Costa Rica Travel Map

The 195-square-mile Chirripó National Park is located approximately 13 miles northeast of San Isidro and covers a portion of three Costa Rican provinces: San José, Cartago, and Limón. Located within its borders is the 12,533-foot Mount Chirripó, also known as Cerro Chirripó, which is the country's highest mountain. As stated on Peaklist, the mountain is the 38th most prominent peak in the world and it sits in a national park that contains five different ecosystems based on the Holdridge Life Zone classification system: lowland tropical wet forest (rain forest), pre-montane tropical wet forest, lower montane wet forest, montane wet forest (cloud forest), and páramo, which is the Spanish word for an ecosystem located in the higher elevations between the upper forest line and the snow level. In the case of Mount Chirripó, the páramo is the area higher than 9,800 feet.

According to UNESCO, the Talamanca Mountain Range is the highest and wildest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. It was formed by the folding of the Earth's crust approximately 18 million years ago. Tropical rain forests have covered most of the area since the last glacial period that ended 25,000 years ago. After the last glaciers retreated, they left many lakes (approximately 30 during the wet season) and u-shaped valleys now known as Valle de los Conejos (Valley of the Rabbits) and the Valle de los Lagos (Valley of the Lakes).

Compared to the mountain's long history, recorded exploration by humans are still relatively in its infancy. Central America.com states that the mountain's páramo region was once believed to be sacred by the indigenous people and left unexplored. But in 1904, a priest and missionary named Agustín Blessing, was the first to summit the sacred peak. Today, thousands of climbers eager to stand on the country's highest point makes the long trek to the top where views of both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea can be seen.