7 fun facts about Costa Rica

Everyone knows Costa Rica’s wildlife is amazing, but you might not know just how incredible it is. There are over 500,000 species of wildlife in total, representing more than 5% of all species on the planet in a country covering just 0.03% of the Earth’s surface – not to mention 12 separate climate zones

That’s made up of a whopping 34,000 different insect species and over 20,000 different types of spider, as well as more than 1,200 types of orchid alone. If you’re counting birds, there are around 900 different species, including quetzals and 50 separate kinds of hummingbird, while the 200+ mammal species include two of the six sloths in the world – also Costa Rica’s national animal.

Perhaps one of the most unusual is the Jesus Christ lizard (otherwise known as the common basilisk) for its ability to run on the top of water.

And to protect all that astonishing array of natural diversity, there are 30 national parks. La Amistad, on the border with Panama is the biggest, while Turrialba is the smallest, and Manuel Antonio is the most visited.

There are over 200 volcanic formations in Costa Rica, formed over 65 million years, with the country making up part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Around 100 show some activity, although only five are classified as active; Arenal, Poás, Rincón de la Vieja, Irazú, and Turrialba – Arenal volcano was considered one of the most active in the world until recently, although it’s quietened down a lot over the last decade. The thermal activity means you can still enjoy the natural hot springs though.

And Poás Volcano is home to one of the world’s largest active craters, which is over 1,000 feet wide and 300 feet deep.

If you’re a coffee lover, Costa Rica is heaven. Not only does the country produce over a million bags of coffee every year – so you’ll never be short of a cup – it’s actually illegal to grow anything other than top-quality beans.

The law is that all coffee must be 100% Arabica, the type which has been grown here since the late 18th century.

Costa Rica already generates more than 98% of its electricity from renewable sources, including hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, and wind power. But the country isn’t resting on its impressive laurels, with the ambition for Costa Rica to be completely carbon neutral by 2050.

The country’s military was dissolved in 1949 after a brief but bloody civil war and they’re never had one since. There’s even a park dedicated to the event in capital San Jose, with a monument in the middle of the lake at Parque La Paz commemorating the fact.

The money which would have been spend on the army goes into education, healthcare and pensions, helping Costa Rica take top spot in the Happy Planet Index in 2012, with the country still making the top five today.

The national currency of Costa Rica is the colon (named for Christopher Columbus who landed in the country in 1502), with the notes printed in vibrant colours.

Each one also depicts animals and wildlife representing some of the country’s different habitats, including a sloth for the rainforest and blue morpho butterfly for the cloud forest, as well as a volcano hummingbird and a mangrove crab.

The country’s latest set of bank notes are all very slightly different lengths, so anyone who is vision impaired can tell the value by its size – the smallest 1,000 colones note is 125mm long, while the largest 50,000 colones note is 160mm, with divisions of 7mm for each denomination in between.

Costa Rica’s land mass is only 20,000 square miles but the country also comprises more than 230,000 square miles of ocean – which also means plenty of beaches. There are around 800 miles of coastlines on two oceans, and hundreds of beaches – around 600 according to one count.

The Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific Coast is home to one of only five Blue Zones in the world, areas where people live and stay healthy longer thanks to their lifestyle, including low stress, the local diet and social interactions.

And Costa Rica is also regularly named one of the top countries for surfing in the world, alongside better-known destinations such as Australia and Hawaii, with great surf beaches on both coasts, such as Samara and Montezuma on the Pacific.