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 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, 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 Liberia and small domestic airstrips in Nosara, Carrillo 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 : Tamarindo, Santa Cruz, Nosara, Sámara, Naranjo, Paquera, Curu, Tambor, Montezuma, Santa Teresa, Mal Pais.
Another very special place is 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. Two other common species of turtles that nest here are the leatherback turtles and the Pacific green turtle . If you want to see this event either of these two protected areas would be a great place to start, generally three to five days this phenomenon occurs.

Conservation

There are a number of nature reserves and wildlife refuges such as Cabo Blanco, Camaronal, Cueva Murciélago, Curú, La Ceiba, Romelia and the Diriá National Park, as well as the projects on the islands of the adjacent Gulf of Nicoya.

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.