The Nicoya Peninsula () is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

coast of

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. It is divided into two provinces:

Guanacaste Province Guanacaste () is a province of Costa Rica located in the northwestern region of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Alajuela Province to the east, and Puntarenas Province to the southeast. I ...

in the north, and the

Puntarenas Province Puntarenas () is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces ...

in the south. It is located at . It varies from 19 to wide and is approximately long, forming the largest peninsula in the country. It is known for its beaches and is a popular tourist destination. The main transport and commercial centre in the region is

Nicoya Nicoya is a Districts of Costa Rica, district and head city of the Nicoya (canton), Nicoya canton, in the Guanacaste Province, Guanacaste province of Costa Rica, located on the Nicoya Peninsula. It is one of the country's most important tourism, ...

, one of the oldest settlements in Costa Rica. Ferries run between the town of Puntarenas on the mainland and the Nicoya Peninsula. There is an international airport in nearby

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

and small domestic airstrips in

Nosara Nosara is a district of the Nicoya canton, in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica. History Nosara was created on 26 January 1988 by Acuerdo 40. Geography Despite the Nicoya peninsula being one of the last locations with large areas of unpave ...

, Carrillo,

Tamarindo Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous A legume () is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seed of such a plant. When used as a dry grain, the seed is also called a pulse. Legumes are grown agricultur ...

and Tambor. The region was also featured in the book '' Blue Zones'', by Dan Buettner, which focused on the longevity found among Nicoya's residents.

Places of interest

Other notable settlements and places of interest in the area include (going roughly from north to south):

, Santa Cruz,

Sámara Sámara is a Districts of Costa Rica, district of the Nicoya (canton), Nicoya canton, in the Guanacaste Province, Guanacaste province of Costa Rica. History Sámara was created on 26 November 1971 by Decreto Ejecutivo 2075-G. Segregated from N ...

, Naranjo, Paquera, Curu, Tambor, Montezuma, Santa Teresa, Mal Pais. The Ostional Wildlife Refuge is the second largest beach where the turtles come to nest. One of their biggest nesting years had over 500,000 females come ashore to nest in one season. This refuge works in with the Nancite beach at Santa Rosa National Park. These two protected areas are two of the most important areas for the nesting of Olive Ridley turtles (''Lepidochelys olivacea''). Two other common species of turtles that nest here are the leatherback turtles ''(Dermmochelys coriacea)'' and the Pacific green turtle ''(Chelonia mydas agassizii).'' The nesting generally occurs for three to five days.

Conservation

There are a number of nature reserves and wildlife refuges such as Cabo Blanco, Camaronal, Cueva Murciélago, Curú,

La Ceiba La Ceiba () is a municipality, the capital of the Honduran department of Atlántida (department), Atlántida and a port city on the northern coast of Honduras in Central America. It is located on the southern edge of the Caribbean, forming part ...

, Romelia and the Diriá National Park, as well as the projects on the islands of the adjacent

Gulf of Nicoya The Gulf of Nicoya ( es, Golfo de Nicoya) is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. It separates the Nicoya Peninsula from the mainland of Costa Rica, and encompasses a marine and coastal landscape of wetlands, rocky islands and cliffs. The first Spanish ...

Notable features

The Nicoya Peninsula is considered by Quest Network one of the Blue Zones in the world, where people commonly live active lives past the age of 100 years.

References

Peninsulas of Costa Rica Geography of Guanacaste Province Geography of Puntarenas Province Blue zones {{CostaRica-geo-stub

Places of interest

Conservation

Notable features

See also

References