Travel Guide Amistad

La Amistad International Park is the largest animal and plant protection area in Central America. Why this name? In fact, under the same name, it includes several Costa Rican parks, including Chirripó in the northwest, the Tapantí refuge near Cartago, Hitoy-Cerere Park on the Atlantic side, some indigenous reserves, and its natural extension in Panama. Under the supervision of a common administration at the La Amistad-Talamanca Conservation Area, supported by some international organizations, 193,900 hectares are strictly protected, and nothing can be done there, not even an access road. In all, nearly 400,000 hectares (40 times the size of Paris), with the addition of the Panamanian side, are in a way a transitional zone where development projects such as the hydroelectric exploitation of the rivers of the Talamanca Cordillera or the establishment of ecological cultivation areas are studied with the utmost respect for the balance of ecosystems. It includes nine of the twelve ecosystems recognized by the Holdridge System (Analysis and Classification of the Earth's Natural Systems).Declared a biosphere reserve in 1982 by UNESCO and a World Heritage Site in 1983, this vast area, mainly covered with tropical forests, has the major advantage of being in a relatively good state. There are even intact traces of telluric movements from the Ice Age (35,000 years BC). What a fine example of agreement between nations (Costa Rica and Panama) on a "non-commercial" subject, an intelligent agreement if ever there was one, since it is the physical and timeless biological bridge between North America and South America!The park is located between 1,000 m above sea level (approximate park boundaries) and almost 4,000 m above sea level. In fact, it includes many peaks over 3,000 m high: Cerro Chirripó (3,819 m, the highest in Costa Rica), Cerro Terbi (3,760 m), Cerro Kámuk (3,554 m), Cerro Cuericí (3,394 m), Cerro Urán (3,333 m) and Cerro Dúrika (3,280 m). There are no active volcanoes. There are a multitude of habitats whose variety is due to topography, soil type and climate. The Andean paramó is certainly the most remarkable example. This low forest, which grows only from an altitude of 3,000 m, is mainly made up of a variety of bamboo, the batamba. Below, the mixed tropical forests are home to oaks (three or four varieties), cypresses and cedars, the tallest. Ceibas (cheese makers) reach 50 m and more, piercing like ventilation chimneys the thick vault of the humid forest. In the wettest areas such as river valleys, the vegetation, already almost impenetrable, is thickened by the sombrilla del pobre, "the poor man's umbrellas", which resemble a rhubarb leaf, much larger. Fauna includes more than two-thirds of the animals found in Costa Rica, especially those that need a large area to hunt, such as puma or jaguar and other tropical cats such as ocelot, jaguarundi or margay, as well as nearly 500 bird species (much more than in all of Europe), 263 amphibian species, 220 reptile species and over 100 fish species. 50 of the 500 bird species observed are endemic to these mountains. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to enjoy these wonders: the international park is only accessible in the immediate vicinity of the guard posts and the Las Tablas reserve, near Progreso. If you feel like an adventurer, if you are in very good physical condition and especially if you have a lot of time and patience, know that it is possible but very difficult to meet animals, much more sensitive to human presence than in any other park in the country. Mother Nature, in all its splendour and mysteries, is here in a well-preserved fortress.To learn more, we invite you to watch the beautiful documentary A small section of the world (in English, on the website asmallsectionoftheworld.com), dedicated to the Biolley women's community that is revitalizing the region in the Altamira sector. Finally, the last important piece of information: in the spring of 2019, surveillance cameras captured photos of perros de monte, wild dogs that would be translated as "bush dogs" in French. This is the first time in hundreds of years that these animals have been seen beyond Panama: originating from South America, they were more than rare in Central America. The indigenous people of the region even claim that their ancestors were aware of their existence, but until today they thought they were simply legends.... But the perro de monte has come back, and that delights the scientific community!