Content (all images and text) courtesy: Zoom Photo Tours
Costa Rica is a nature photographer’s paradise – beautiful national parks, vast volumes of birds and other animals, rainforests, volcanoes as well as a vast biodiversity that transcends most other countries. Take this opportunity to accompany Sudhir Shivaram – India’s most well known wildlife photographer – on an unforgettable photo tour to this tropical paradise. During the trip, we will photograph everything from tiny insects, spiders, frogs and snakes to larger animals such as bears, deer and tapirs. We will capture the wildlife of Costa Rica’s incredible national parks, including the famous Tortuguero National Park.
TOUR HIGHLIGHTS
– Participation and personal tutoring by Sudhir Shivaram.
– Experience many of the country’s best national parks.
– Capture the Costa Rican rain forests and its amazing birdlife.
– Night walks through the rainforest.
– Crocodile photography on the Tarcoles River.
– Visit to La Selva Biological Reserve.
– Great accommodation connected to the national parks.
– Workshops and lectures by Sudhir Shivaram during the entire trip.
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica is located in Central America and adjoins Nicaragua, Panama, the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea. In the capital of San José, approximately one third of the country’s 4.2 million inhabitants live. The climate in Costa Rica is subtropical, and tropical in the lowlands, but somewhat colder in the central highlands. The country has two seasons; rain and dry seasons. The rainy season lasts from May to November and the dry season usually lasts between December and April. Costa Rica is home to a wide variety of plants and animals. Although the country occupies only 0.1% of the world’s total land mass, biodiversity amounts to 5% of the world’s animals and plants, equivalent to between 500,000 and one million species. Including 50,000 different species of insects, 208 different species, 850 bird species and a little more than 200 reptiles, of which about half are snakes. Over 27% of Costa Rica’s surface is dedicated to national parks, nature reserves and nature conservation areas.
LOS QUETZALES NATIONAL PARK
Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno), Las Tablas Protected Zone, Costa Rica
Los Quetzales National Park was established in 2006 and extends over 5,000 hectares, comprising three types of rainforest and 14 ecosystems. The park’s terrain varies greatly from mountains to lakes, rivers and rainforest. Exotic flowers add splashes of color to the otherwise dense green rainforest. In this ecosystem you will find a large number of species of flora and fauna, some of which are endemic to the area.
CARARA NATIONAL PARK
The park has a unique location between the Amazon and Mesoamerican and houses different flora and fauna from the respective habitat. The name of the park means crocodile, which you understand when traveling on Tarcoles River, inhabited by large amounts of crocodiles. The park is a paradise for bird photographers ranging from colorful parrots such as macaws and several species of toucan to king fishers and herons.
BRAULIO CARRILLO NATIONAL PARK
Braulio Carrillo National Park is the largest national park in central Costa Rica with an area of 476 square kilometers. The park consists of dense rainforest and is home to nearly 6,000 species of plants. The highest point in the park is the inactive Barva volcano which, with its 2,906 meters, rises high above the rainforest. Among the over 500 bird species in the park are beautiful quetzals, toucans and different eagles. About 150 mammals also live in the park including jaguars, wild boar, black bear, deer, tapir and bats.
TORTUGUERO NATIONAL PARK
The name Tortuguero can be translated into “Land of Turtles” and this national park is home to spider monkeys, howler monkeys as well as capuchin monkeys and the three toed sloth. It also houses over 320 bird species and a vast variety of reptiles. Tortugeuero offers incredible diversity, such as rainforests, swamps, lagoons, beaches and rivers, all set in a beautiful tropical climate. The deep jungle spreads out like a vast canal landscape and opens into the Caribbean Sea. The giant turtles, however, are the park’s major attraction. On the beaches around Tortuguero, four different species of turtles lay their eggs each year.
DETAILED TOUR ITINERARY • JANUARY 13-23, 2020
During the trip, Sudhir will often have talks and share his knowledge and experience with the group. Many evenings will consist of working on image processing of the photos we’ve been taking during the day.
