Selected as one of the 12 most beautiful parks in the world by Forbes magazine, Manuel Antonio National Park is located in the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, in the canton of Quepos in the province of Puntarenas.
Manuel Antonio National Park is in a tourist area, where agriculture and cattle raising are practiced. With one of the prettiest landscapes of Costa Rica and the world, the park hosts, during the year, visitors from all over the world who marvel at the wilderness area, surrounded by green mountains, with white sand, its biodiversity, and the annual temperature of approximately 27°C (80.5 °F).
The 1.983 ha of the land zone and the 55.000 ha of the marine zone, are home to great biodiversity, presenting wilderness vegetation, multiple species of plants and trees, around 100 species of mammals, 180 species of birds, and a great number of different kinds of fishes and marine animals.
Flora
The Manuel Antonio National Park is located in a tropical wet forest area and protects zones of primary and secondary forest, beach vegetation, and mangroves.
Red, white and black mangroves are the three different species that establish the approximately 18 ha of mangrove in the park. The savanna oak, coconut, manzanillo tree with poisoned fruit, and almond trees are the most seen species that present the beach vegetation of the zone.
The main species of flora in the primary forest are the pylon, maría cedar, the guacimo colorado, the surah, the ceiba, the rain tree, the black locust, and the timber tree which is in danger of extinction.
In the secondary forest, the most common species are the balsa, the garocho, the white chokecherry, and the guarumo.
Fauna
Among the more than 100 species of mammals in the Manuel Antonio National Park, the most seen are the coati, the raccoon, the sloth of two and three fingers, the agouti, felines, and white face monkey, the marmoset is also an outstanding specie of the park since it is in danger of extinction due the destruction of their habitat and because they are used as pets.
The principal birds at the park are the pelican, the tucancillo, the osprey, the grouse, and the green kingfisher. It is also possible to find snakes, lizards, and a variety of fishes and insects.
The Manuel Antonio National Park is considered a small place for the varied biodiversity that presents, it makes the park a beautiful destination with wonderful landscapes and nice activities to enjoy outdoors.
