The Diriá National Park, until 2004 the Diriá National Forest Wildlife Refuge, is a

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

south of Santa Cruz in the

Guanacaste Province Guanacaste () is a Provinces of Costa Rica, 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 Pro ...

, and forms part of the

Tempisque Conservation Area Tempisque Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by SINAC for the purposes of conservation in the western part of Costa Rica, including the Tempisque River valley and the Nicoya Peninsula. It contains a number of National Par ...

. It protects both dry and at higher elevations humid

tropical forest Tropical forests are forested ecoregions with tropical climates – that is, land areas approximately bounded by the Tropic of Cancer, tropics of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing ...

in the central

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

s of the

Nicoya Peninsula The Nicoya Peninsula () is a peninsula on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It is divided into two provinces: Guanacaste Province in the north, and the Puntarenas Province in the south. It is located at . It varies from in width and is about lon ...

, including the

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

s of the

Diriá Diriá is a district of the Santa Cruz canton, in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northe ...

, Tigre, Verde and Enmedio rivers which have been created a terrain of deep

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

s with steep slopes. The park has a ranger station which is open daily from 8am to 4pm for visitors and tourists, and contains species such as

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

howler monkey Howler monkeys (genus ''Alouatta'', monotypic in subfamily Alouattinae) are the most widespread primate genus in the Neotropical realm, Neotropics and are among the largest of the New World monkey, platyrrhines along with the muriquis (''Brachyte ...

anteater Anteaters are the four extant mammal species in the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue"), commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with sloths, they ar ...

s and

peccary Peccaries (also javelinas or skunk pigs) are pig-like ungulates of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North America. Peccari ...

, besides 134 known species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s. There are several rare tree species, as well as endemic plant species, including the

Pitcairnia ''Pitcairnia'' is a genus of plants in the family Bromeliaceae, subfamily Pitcairnioideae. It was named for William Pitcairn, Scottish physician and gardener (1711–1791). The genus ''Pitcairnia'' ranks as the second most prolific of the brome ...

bromeliad and a type of

Stenocereus ''Stenocereus'' () is a genus of columnar or tree-like cactus, cacti from the Baja California Peninsula and other parts of Mexico, Arizona in the United States, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Venezuela and the West Indies. The genus has been en ...

cactus, which are only found on the Nicoya Peninsula. It was originally designated as a protected zone in 1991 and then two years later it became a National

wildlife refuge A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

. The park has two trails that leave the ranger station, one of which leads to the Brasil Waterfall. There is a basic dormitory at the ranger station where travelers can stay overnight.

References

External links

* at Costa Rica National Parks National parks of Costa Rica Protected areas established in 1991 Geography of Guanacaste Province Tourist attractions in Guanacaste Province 1991 establishments in Costa Rica {{CostaRica-protected-area-stub