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Tico Explorers

Explore Northern Plains

Costa Rica’s Northern Plains connect rural communities with rivers, forests and the wider Arenal landscape. Places such as La Fortuna, Guatuso and Los Chiles offer different ways to learn about life shaped by water and land. Explore with curiosity, learn from local people and help care for the landscapes and traditions that make this place special.

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Brown Wood Turtle

A domed brown shell belongs to a turtle that spends much of its time on land.

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South American Snapping Turtle

A long tail and powerful head distinguish this freshwater turtle.

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Almendro de Rio

Purple flower clusters stand out against a dense green crown.

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Expanded Lobster Claw

An upright open arrangement of colorful bracts rises among broad green leaves.

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Wagner Heliconia

Broad pink-and-cream bracts form a colorful upright flower display.

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Spiral Ginger

Spiraling leaves lead the eye to a red-orange cone of bracts.

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Hot Lips Plant

Two bright red bracts surround tiny pale flowers in the forest understory.

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Cenizaro Rain Tree

An umbrella-shaped crown shelters a world beneath its branches.

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Mountain Immortelle

Poro gigante is a South American tree widely planted and naturalized in Costa Rica.

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Ice Cream Bean

Guaba is planted for its long ribbed pods and as a shade tree.

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Scarlet Passionflower

Scarlet passionflower is a climbing vine with vivid red flowers and curling tendrils.

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Firebush

Firebush is a shrub with clusters of narrow orange to red tubular flowers.

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