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INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
| COSTA RICA
NEWS |
Thursday 07 April 2011 |
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Costa
Rica's
Chirripó
Declared
National
Symbol
The
Cerro
Chirripó
is the
highest
point in
Costa
Rica,
standing
at 3.819
metres
(12.600
feet)
above
sea
level
and now
its
crests
declared
a
national
symbol.
Overview
of Valle
de los
Lagos,
Chirripó
National
Park
The
declaration
as made
on
Wednesday
following
second
debate
in
Committee
with the
full
legislative
power of
Legislatrive
Assembly
(Congress).
This
recognition
will
increase
the
potential
of the
crests
to the
national
economy,
thus
becoming
a
tourist
reference.
Chirripó
National
Park is
located
in the
middle
portion
of the
Talamanca
Range of
Costa
Rica,
approximately
30 km
northeast
from the
city of
San
Isidro
del
General
(Perez
Zeledon).
It
protects
a number
of
important
ecosystems
on the
Costa
Rican
Pacific
slope
and is
notable
for
including
the
largest
extension
of
páramo
vegetation
in the
country.
Because
of these
conditions,
the
Chirripó
National
Park
preserves
a number
of
plants,
animals,
fungi
and
insects,
some of
which
are
under
study by
the
scientific
community.
With a
particular
climate
that
includes
only two
seasons,
a dry
one
approximately
from
December
to April
and a
wet one
from May
to
November,
this
national
park is
among
the most
exciting
ones for
locals
and
tourists
from
around
the
world.
This is
based on
the fact
that in
order to
get to
the
summit
(Cerro
Chirripó)
the
visitor
has to
walk
along a
16 km
uphill
trail
from the
town of
San
Gerardo
de Rivas
to the
park
ranger's
refuge
in the
Los
Crestones
sector
and save
energies
for the
next 5
km walk
from
here to
the
peak.
Considering
that
Chirripó
is the
38th
most
prominent
peak in
the
world,
this
journey
is a
once in
lifetime
experience
for most
tourists.
This
national
park
encompasses
parts of
three
Provinces
in Costa
Rica -
San
Jose,
Limón
and
Cartago,
and
contains
five
different
ecosystems
according
to the
Holdridge
life
zone
classification
system,
being
these:
lowland
tropical
wet
forest,
premontane
tropical
wet
forest,
lower
montane
wet
forest,
montane
wet
forest
and
subalpine
wet
forest (paramo).
During
the dry
season
the
upper
regions
are
susceptible
to
fires.
The
latest
recorded
events
have
occurred
in 1953,
1958,
1976,
1977,
1981 and
1992.
This
last
event,
however,
affected
over 20
km²
(5000
acres)
of
vegetation
and
forced
the
administration
to close
the park
for four
months.
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