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The Republic of Costa Rica (the "Rich Coast") is a small country in Central America with both a Caribbean and a Pacific coast. It is exceptional in that many environments can be visited within a short time. Rain forests, cloud forests, unspoiled beaches, coral reefs, white water rivers and volcanoes can be reached within a couple of hours by car from San José. The richness of its flora and fauna is remarkable for so small a country: about 8000 species of higher plants and over 820 species of birds-more than all of the United States and Canada combined-make it a dream for nature lovers. A national system of parks and reserves totals a high 8% of the country's territory. |
