With an area of 6,933 square miles and a population of about 450,000, Guanacaste has a varied topography ranging from highlands featuring active volcanoes to pastoral, fertile lowlands. Within its boundaries are very important protected areas and a scenic Pacific shore featuring crystal blue waters lapping at warm, sandy beaches.

The Pan-American Highway leads visitors to Guanacaste, passing by scattered cities and villages from which several destinations can be reached. Passing the Puntarenas intersection and travelling deep along the winding road to Liberia , the landscape changes little by little to vast extensions running along both sides of the road. The eastern side is crowned by the main mountain range while the flatness of the western side promises stunning sunsets over its wide-open spaces.

Several rivers, a few of them leading to protected areas, cut across the roadway. Rafting stations offer visitors the chance to follow the current while bird watching and admiring nature. Interesting options, indeed; before getting to the beach.

Cattle haciendas, ecological lodges, ecotourism centers, and museums are options to visit along the way and learn more about Guanacaste's lowlands. Lomas de Barbudal Biological Reserve and Palo Verde National Park are the largest protected areas in this region.

Villages and cities scattered along both sides of the Pan American Highway lead visitors to Guancaste's highlands. A very nice road leads to two spectacular natural sanctuaries, Tenorio Volcano National Park and its neighbor Miravalles Volcano. Don't miss a visit to Miravalles Forest Reserve.

Beyond Liberia , Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park offers the dramatic experience of an area featuring an active volcano in a relative period of calm. The largest of the five volcanoes belonging to the Guanacaste Cordillera, it is composed of nine separate volcanic craters. A refuge for birds and wildlife, the slopes of the volcano are superb for horseback riding and contemplation of nature.

Perfectly designed trails allow visitors to travel along the slopes and the higher areas of the volcano with very rewarding experiences in bird watching as well as wildlife spotting. Splendid vegetation and gigantic trees, bubbling mud holes, clean cool rivers, dramatic waterfalls and river pools embrace visitors, while inviting them to relax.

Further north, Santa Rosa National Park is the largest protected area of the dry forest, an area ranging from the savannah to the slopes of Guanacaste's volcanic range on the eastern side of the territory.