Costa Rica

A near-perfect stratovolcano in the northern lowlands, 1,657 m tall, Costa Rica's most active volcano from 1968 to 2010, now the centrepiece of a national park with hot springs and lake views.

Costa Rica's largest national park, covering 42,000 hectares on the Osa Peninsula, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, protecting lowland rainforest, coral reefs, and endangered wildlife.

Costa Rica's smallest and most visited national park, where dense rainforest descends directly onto white sand coves on the Pacific coast south of Quepos, supporting monkeys, sloths, and coastal birds.

A private cloud forest reserve on the Continental Divide in the Tilaran Mountains, covering 10,500 hectares of montane wet forest famous for quetzals, hanging bridges, and extraordinary canopy biodiversity.

Costa Rica's national theatre, a European-style opera house in the heart of San Jose built in 1897 with coffee-revenue financing, renowned for its marble interior, Belgian ironwork, and active season of opera, ballet, and classical music.

A UNESCO World Heritage site on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast, accessible only by boat, famous for green sea turtle nesting from July to October and a network of black-water canals through lowland rainforest.