Costa Rica is popular vacation destination in Central America, located between Nicaragua and Panama. Costa Rica is famous for its beautiful beaches, lush jungles, active volcanoes, and exotic wildlife species.
Costa Rica is officially called Republic of Costa Rica, or in Spanish, República de Costa Rica. It is located in southern Central America, south of Nicaragua and north of Panama. Literally, the name Costa Rica mean “Rich Coast”, however the reality is that Costa Rica has two coasts. One coast, or costa (Spanish), is on the Caribbean Sea side to the east and the other is on the Pacific Ocean side to the west.
Although not entirely without corruption, Costa Rica enjoys relative peace especially due to abolishing its army permanently in 1949. Costa Rica has been more consistently on the list of countries with oldest democracies, the only Latin American country on the list, and the highest human development index out of all of the countries of Latin America. Costa Rica is also world renowned for its efforts in conservation and environmental protection. However, new developments in resorts and condominium communities are threatening to certain extent those efforts.
Costa Rica is a favorite destination among many for its pristine beaches great for swimming or surfing, national parks where one can enjoy wildlife, volcanoes and flora, and the friendly nature of Ticos (as Costa Ricans refer to themselves). Costa Rica has incredibly diverse landscapes, flora, and fauna. From rain forests, to dry tropical and temperate forests, to volcanoes, to Caribbean and Pacific beaches, to high mountains, and marshy lowlands.
