Sarapiqui is the largest county in Heredia, covering over 85% of the province’s total area. Located in the northeastern region of the country and bordered by Nicaragua in the north.  

This is a popular tourist destination mainly for adventure seekers.  One of the many rivers that run like a venal system throughout this region is Rio Sarapiqui. In addition to class III and IV white water rafting, the river has quiet sections where float safaris provide visitors with intensely close wildlife viewing opportunities.

The region also offers some of the country’s most premier private land reserves that in some cases link with national parks such as the Braulio Carrillo National Park, creating biological corridors linking the heights of Barva Volcano to the tropical lowlands. The large territorial needs of mammals such as jaguars and pumas are met, while protecting an increasing percentage of important tropical habitats.

One of the most internationally renowned private reserves is La Selva Biological Station. The land of this research center is owned and operated by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) - a non-profit consortium of universities and institutions in Latin America, the United States and Australia – and has been declared a biosphere reserve along with the Braulio Carrillo National Park by the UNESCO.

More than 400 bird species either live or migrate into La Selva’s 3,739 protected acres, as well as numerous reptiles, amphibians and mammals, including 5 of the 6 cat species found in Costa Rica. That isn’t even beginning to count the amazing variety of plant life!

Sarapiqui’s strong regional sense of conservation is evident in the many private reserves and collectives in the area, some of which place as much importance on the cultural significance of their locale as the biological. From sustainable agriculture, creating beauty products using native medicinal herbs, to ecolodges using sustainable technologies, Sarapiqui is an area of Costa Rica that has the gift of rainforest ecology, the tradition of conservation, and an understanding of the small-scale tourism that can be the future of the country.

Sarapiqui is prefect for those who enjoy spending time outdoors hiking, horseback riding, bird watching, white water rafting or kayaking. There are some lovely banana plantations and butterfly gardens nearby which one can visit.