Costa Rica's Wonderful Wildlife

Always searching for new ways to provide great content, I realized that I haven't yet created a blog post specifically discussing the exotic wildlife that we photograph on our all-inclusive Costa Rica photo tours. 

Costa Rica is an incredibly diverse country with hundreds of species of wildlife and no photography tour would be complete without opportunities to photograph some of the gorgeous creatures that thrive throughout the tropical paradise. 


Half of our 2020 Costa Rica photo tours begin at La Paz Waterfall Gardens and I've written extensively about that location and the incredible animal sanctuary on its grounds.  Some of the amazing creatures you'll photograph at La Paz include gorgeous blue morpho butterflies, chestnut-mandibled toucans (pictured above), scarlet macaws, and red-eyed tree frogs (pictured below).


There are also enclosures with white-faced monkeys, spider monkeys, jaguars, pumas (pictured below), ocelots, and a variety of snakes.

Deep in Costa Rica's expansive Central Valley, another location where we've spotted wildlife is Bajos del Toro.  On one photo tour, several howler monkeys entertained us with their acrobatics, swinging between vines and trees on the trail to the bottom of the towering 300' tall waterfall.

At the main entrance of Bajos del Toro, and throughout the gardens filled with beautiful tropical flowers, hummingbird feeders draw hundreds of colorful wizards zooming by without fear of people.  We explore Bajos del Toro on the Colors of Costa Rica and Waterfalls of Costa Rica photo tours.


La Fortuna is featured on all our Costa Rica photo tours and although it is primarily known for stunning views of the iconic cone-shaped Arenal Volcano and jaw-dropping waterfall, La Fortuna also hosts a wide variety of incredible wildlife.  On several photo tours we've encountered packs of ring-tailed coatis (pictured below), and these friendly creatures combine the face of a racoon, snout of an anteater, and long tail of a monkey. 


On the Pura Vida Costa Rica and Explore Costa Rica photo tours, we visit a private farm near La Fortuna with strawberry poison dart frogs (pictured below).  These vivid frogs are also known as blue jeans ranas (Spanish for frogs) due to their reddish orange torsos and dark blue back legs that resemble blue jeans to those with creative imaginations.  These little guys are only 3/4" long, secrete venom through their skin, and their bright colors warn predators to stay away. 


Tenorio Volcano National Park is home to the fantastic Rio Celeste, and while it's mostly known for the magnificent turquoise water and stunning waterfall, we've also photographed three-toe sloths there, clinging to their tree top perches high above the water.


Although wildlife is a bit more scarce in the dry northwest region of Guanacaste, blue morpho butterflies are still plentiful, and this beauty pictured below was photographed in Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park.


So now you have a taste of some of the wildlife you can expect to see and photograph on our Costa Rica Photo Tours.  Of course, each tour is different and we never know what animal surprises we might encounter, but this is a good mix of certainties and a few possibilities. 

For a complete listing of all photo tours with dates, itineraries, and more photos, click the link above, choose which tour works best for you, and book your spot today!