Costa Rica is a lovely country situated in the Central American region. The whole land comprises of Lush greeneries and a very huge variation of wildlife. In addition to this, the whole country gives out a very pleasant ambiance, making it one of the best vacation lands one could search for. The country is near the top end of South America and is naturally known for its dense forests and wildlife as well.
The Costa Ricans tend to give out the best Hospitality in the world to the visitors to their country. Costa Rica is accompanied by another heavenly country called Panama. Now, let us look at some of the interesting facts about Costa Rica in this article. I’m pretty sure that some of these Costa Rica facts will induce you to visit Costa Rica, which is a lovely place to visit.
Photo by Samuel Charron on Unsplash Copyright 2018
1)Facts about Costa Rica- The Rich Coast
1.1)The Highest mountain in Costa Rica
The Cerro Cherripo comprises of the Talamanca Natural habitats where a portion of the finest world’s biodiversity could be found. The Mountain is filled with a lot of wildlife. The peak is located nearly about 4 Kilometers away from the natural sea level, which makes it the highest mountain available in the whole country of Costa Rica. The visitors of the Cerro Cherripo can witness a lot of fascination.
People can see the whole of the Pacific ocean along the Pacific coast to their West side, and the whole the Caribbean sea along the Caribbean coast to the East side. The Cerro Cherripo is also known to be one of the coldest places in all of Costa Rica having about only 11-15 Degree Celsius during the daytime.
The temperature tends to drop down to the lowest degrees available, making it one of the coldest places in existence. But an additional fact about this is that the whole mountain hasn’t seen a proper snowfall for a whole century. People visit Costa Rica to see this magnificent place. But, a proper permit is required to enter the terrain. It is because the mountain houses some of the endangered species of life which requires protection.
1.2)The Highest Volcano in Costa Rica
The Irazu Volcano is known to be the highest Volcano mount to ever exist in the whole of Costa Rica. With an estimated height of about 3.5 Kilometers away from the normal sea level, the Irazu stands as the most tallest Volcanic mount to ever exist in Central America. The mountain is dormant currently. It was one of the most active volcanoes to ever exist in Costa Rica.
The last recording of its activeness was dated back to the year 1994, which bought devastating effects. The volcano is so tall that people can see the El Coloso or the Colossus the natives of the land. The Irazu Volcano is said to bring down a lot of mudflows and landslides along its surface during a minor eruption. This has caused a lot of problems for the people residing near the foothills of the Volcanic Mount.
The Volcano is named after the local words of Ara which is known as The Point and Tzu, which is called The Thunder. The mountain is said to be dormant due to the decreasing temperature at that particular height. The whole volcanic mount is a beautiful spot to visit, not when it’s active though. This proves to be one of the most interesting facts about Costa Rica.
1.3)The Biggest Lake in Costa Rica
Costa Rica owns a beautiful spot with a splendid view of one of the active volcanoes in the whole country. Lake Arenal proves to be one of the biggest lakes to ever exist in the country of Costa Rica. It is situated right below the Arenal volcano, giving visitors the best view possible.
Lake Arenal is famous among tourists for activities like sailing, windsurfing, and even fishing. Lake Arenal as well as the Arenal Volcano, both of these takes their name from the town of Arenal. The town was located on the shores of the lake before. But the people of the town relocated from the shores to another place due to the rising level of the water surface in the lake. It was caused by the construction of a local dam.
Photo by bberry on depositphotos
The Arenal Lake covers a total of about 85 Kilometers with an average depth of nearly 45 meters below the normal level of the lake. The dam constructed near the lake is named the Arenal Dam and contributes to roughly 15-20% of the whole country’s electricity consumption.
1.4)Costa Ricans and their stone carvings
The Native Costa Ricans have their origins dated back to the age called the Diquis Culture. The Diquis Culture was mostly inherited and followed by the native Costa Ricans during the years from 700 AD to 1530 AD. The Costa Ricans of the previous age from the Diquis Culture were usually found carving a lot of figurines and spheres for mysterious reasons which are quite unknown to date.
The figurines were usually made for worship, but the spheres had no specific reason for their creation. The sphere is usually carved out of a volcanic rock named gabbro. These spheres were assumed to have been used as a property mark by the leaders of the native groups during ancient times. This practice was slowly fading away as the entire culture did after the arrival of people and warriors from Spain to acquire the lands of Costa Rica. Some of these spheres even remain to date and possess a lot of cultural value.
1.5) Costa Rica was the poorest colony of the Spaniards
The Country of Costa Rica was one captured by the Spaniards as stated before. Costa Rica is one of the most famous Spanish-speaking countries which could ever exist, even though it was the poorest country captured by the forces of Spain. This financial status of the country of Costa Rica made it very difficult for the settlers to ease in the environment. They had nothing to extract and make use of. Forced labor proved meaningless in the Costa Rican regions.
Most of the Spanish colonists were in search of riches and other fine materials. They wanted to get richer which made them ignore this country. Thus, the colonization of Spain didn’t have a violent and powerful impact on the lands of Costa Rica.
1.6) Straight to war, even after Independence
The country of Costa Rica owns another important event in its history. It was the civil war that broke out between its inhabitants during the early ages of the 1820s. This war was started between two groups called the imperialists and the republicans. The fight started due to a simple difference of opinion.
A reasonable amount of chaos was caused all over the nation. It was because the whole country of Costa Rica was parted by the opinions of both these groups. The original issue was that the Imperialists wanted Costa Rica to join New Mexico after its independence. The republicans opposed this fact and won ultimately. This is one of the most famous civil opposition faced in the history of Costa Rica.
1.7) A country with no Military
The Government of Costa Rica abolished its military and strictly opposed anyone who was known to give ideas of forming a structured military. This is a result of the civil war that was explained here before. The Military was banned by the Government of Costa Rica and a lot of Military officials lost their ranks and lives as well. At that time, Costa Rica was the only country in the whole of Central America with no military or any other defense forces to protect it from external threats.
Photo by pwollinga on depositphotos
The Military had an important role in the civil war which broke out before, which made them the enemies of their government. Soon, their police forces were converted into a much stronger force. They were converted to the paramilitary level, possessing higher powers and authorities. The country of Costa Rica also has some of the finest special forces which are hidden in plain sight to work on sensitive operations.
1.8) The San Jose river of Costa Rica
The land of Costa Rica is incomplete without its signature river known as the San Jose river. The river has been one of the most controversial topics present in the country of Costa Rica. It is because the country has gone through and faced a lot of disputes due to that river. The disputes over that river have dated back to the early ages of the Nineteenth Century.
The San Jose river’s ownership was fought between two countries namely Costa Rica and Nicaragua, its neighboring country. Both the countries were serious about various levels of intensities in acquiring the ownership of the lake because it proved to be quite useful and holds a cultural value to it.
The international court of Justice got involved in this matter during the year of 2009. The court later declared that the river must be shared with the civilians of Costa Rica, no matter what. It must be allowed access without any special passes or fees. But everyone accessing will be subjected to inspection due to core security reasons by the Government of Nicaragua.
1.9) Known to be the Happiest Country
The country of Costa Rica is said to be the happiest country in the world during the year 2012. The declaration of such a position always comes from main matters like the decrease in the issues faced by the government and even the average life expectancy in a country. It even depends upon the number of funds allocated to the defenses and other internal security factors of a country.
The more money spent on such forces indirectly means that the country is facing some kind of a threat internally or externally. And in the case of Costa Rica, the government has seen only to have spent very little amount on maintaining its defenses and securities. It is because Costa Rica was in a safe and peaceful position during the year 2012.
But now, it has straightened up its defenses for arising threats that are quite uncertain. But still, the Country of Costa Rica is one of the happiest places in the world.
1.10) Costa Rica has a lot of Biodiversity
The country of Costa Rica houses a lot of flora and fauna to be precise. It owns about 500,000 species within its dense forests. The land has wildlife in abundance. The number such as 500,000 tells us that the country of Costa Rica is quite the powerhouse of wildlife.
The Biodiversity is in every terrain form of the country. From the plain lands to the volcanic mounts, you can witness a lot of animals, birds, and other greeneries of various kinds. Most species of life are classified as either rare or endangered. I’m pretty sure that most of the living species present in the denser forests of Costa Rica are of really a higher rarity.
Tourists take the activity of Safari quite seriously while exploring the forests of Costa Rica, just to explore the mysterious sides of the forests.
1.11) Costa Ricans live longer
The people in Costa Rica on a life expectancy rate, which is a lot larger than that of an average human in any other country. It is because most of the natives in Costa Rica still follow their traditional methods of work and consumption. A lot of them still belong to the agricultural sector following proper nutrition-filled diets day after day. They work for what they eat and they eat what they have worked for. This is their regular schedule to be precise.
Costa Rica is not interested in commercializing consumable products. They are not even interested in promoting junk food brands for influencing people who can be easily influenced through basic advertising. Costa Ricans have an average living expectancy of over 85 years, which could even extend depending on certain situations and lifestyles. This tells us Costa Ricans are one of the healthiest groups available on the planet.
1.12) The Sanctuary of Turtles
Turtles are one of the most humble creatures to ever exist on this planet. They live in serenity looking to live in peace wherever they go. They do not intend to harm anything. They just go on their own journeys. But a lot of turtles are being either poached or even trafficked for immoral purposes.
Costa Ricans take up the protection of turtles pretty crucially. The Costa Rican government has come forward to make this purpose fulfilled. Costa Rica proves to be one of the safest places for these humble creatures to live in. The country owns a sanctuary for turtles named the Ostional Wildlife Refuge. Here, nearly a million turtles are taken care of. This initiative was set up by the government to protect turtles and their eggs from poachers.
The population of turtles in Costa Rica is multiple times the total number of population of the Costa Ricans. This is the only place where one could harvest turtle eggs. You can witness a lot of turtles laying their eggs on the beautiful seashores of Costa Rica between July and September. This is the period with the most optimal temperature for all creatures which are in the process of producing offspring.
1.13) Costa Ricans rise up to their National Anthem
Every radio stations available in the whole of Costa Rica have this particular habit of playing their National Anthem every morning. Most of the people in Costa Rica have this practice of carrying their Radios to work, despite the growth of technology. It is because the country is partly an economy functioning from the income mostly earned by the agricultural sector. Most of the people working in the agricultural sector tend to listen to the radio while they are working in the fields.
The radio stations found this fact quite exciting and infused a sense of patriotism in the mornings of every radio listener of Costa Rica by playing their National Anthem. The Costa Rican National Anthem will be played somewhere near 7 AM every day.
1.14) Tell the word- Pura Vida
The phrase Pura Vida simply means pure life. The term is used in such a way that the user exhibits his relaxed lifestyle to the one who hears it. Pura Vida is seen as one of the most famous greetings used by most Costa Ricans to visitors.
The country gives out that unique ambiance as said before. That particular relaxing vibe which only some places in this world will give to their visitors. And this particular phrase of Pura Vida suits perfectly the whole ambiance of the country. Pura Vida is not just a simple greeting used by Costa Ricans. It is a whole state of mind. It exhibits the welcoming and friendly nature of the person telling that.
These are some of the most interesting facts about Costa Rica. This land houses a lot of living things and proves to be one of the heavenly places present in the world. Make sure to visit it at least once in your lifetime. Feel free to check out some of the most amazing places to visit in Costa Rica, brought to you by Icy tales.
Last Updated on by ritukhare
