Diria National Park (Parque Nacional Diria) is in the Nicoya Peninsula region of Guanacaste province in Costa Rica. It's an inland park with lowland forests teeming with wildlife and providing some great hiking trails within an hour drive of several of Costa Rica's most popular beach resorts.

Understand

History

Diria became a protected zone in 1991. It was declared a national park on July 5, 2004.

Landscape

Summit of Cerro Chirripó

The park is hilly with dense green foliage carpeting its mountain slopes. It's considered a premontane forest, which means its transitional between the lowland coastal zones and the higher elevations where rainforests and very dense vegetation are found. Elevations in the park vary from about 150 meters to more than 1,500 meters. The park covers an area of about 5,000 hectares. Mountains within the park include Cerro Diriá and Cerro Chirripó.

Flora and fauna

The park is home to a wide variety of birds, reptiles, and mammals. Many are full-time residents and some animals migrate seasonally into the forests of the national park where water and other resources can be found during the dry season that makes food and water more scarce in the lowland plains. Animals you're likely to see in the park include mantled howler monkeys, spider monkeys, and white-faced capuchin monkeys, legions of white-nosed coati, spiny-tailed iguanas, and myriad species of birds including trogons, motmots, manikins, kidkadees, cuckoos and lots of others that you probably never heard of. Animals you're unlikely to see include the elusive jaguar, the rare resplendant quetzal, and snakes like the shy bushmaster (which prefers to hunt at night).

A wide variety of trees and smaller plants grow in Diria including laurel, pochote, ceiba, gumbo limbo, and mango. When the mangos are ripe, you'll likely see groups of monkeys gorging themselves on the tasty sweet fruit. Other common trees include oak, cypress, and guarumo.

Climate

Diria has a humid tropical climate. Visitors should expect warm temperatures and high humidity throughout the year.

Get in

The park is in Guanacaste, which is most easily reached by plane to Liberia (LIR ^IATA). Rental cars are available at the Liberia airport. A 4WD truck is the best way to get around if you are driving anywhere in Costa Rica, where roads between major cities are generally good, paved roads but anything beyond town is likely to be a dirt road that's more mud than dirt, is full of potholes, and may occasionally require inventing your own road to get around obstacles.

From Liberia, drive south on highway CA-21 for about 60 km until you are in the town of Santa Cruz, where you will continue south on tertiary road 904 for about 16 km.

Do

• Birdwatching

• Hiking is the main activity in Diria National Park. There are three marked and maintained trails.

1. A short loop trail starting from the ranger station is mostly flat with a small hill leading up to a mirador before looping back. It's an easy hike that will take about 30 minutes.
2. A somewhat longer loop following a ridge with a bit more steep terrain and has good views of nearby mountains; it connects with a dirt (mud) road to return to the ranger station. It still an easy hike, but will take about 1½ hours to hike.
3. The third trail is labeled Cataratas and goes to a waterfall that's there if it's been raining, but doesn't flow during dry spells. It will take about 1½ hours to hike the Cateratas trail.

Buy, eat, drink, sleep

There are no stores or businesses in or near the park. The closest place with services for travelers is the town of Santa Cruz, where you will find several sodas (as diners are known in Costa Rica), most on side streets within 100 meters of the main road. They serve hearty meals (always including gallo pinto) and sell soft drinks and beer.

Stay safe

Wear sturdy hiking boots, particularly in the wet season when slippery rocks and lots of mud will fill the trails. On sunny days, a good hat and sunblock are necessary. Be wure to wear long pants and be careful where you step, especially if you decide to explore off the main trails.

Go next

• Nicoya
• Tamarindo
• Barra Honda National Park
• Nosara