The
Nicoya Peninsula is a
peninsulaA peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paenīnsula : paene, almost + īnsula, island.A peninsula can also be a headland, cape, island promontory, bill, point, or spit....
on the Pacific coast of
Costa RicaCosta Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.Costa Rica, which translates literally as "Rich Coast", constitutionally...
and lies in the
Guanacaste ProvinceGuanacaste is a province of Costa Rica located in the northwestern part of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. To the north it borders Nicaragua. To the east is the Alajuela Province, and to the southeast is the Puntarenas Province. It is the most sparsely populated of all the...
in the north, and the
Puntarenas ProvincePuntarenas is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces Guanacaste, Alajuela, San José and Limón, and the...
in the south. It is located at . It varies from 19 to wide and is approximately long, and forms the largest peninsula in the country. It is known for its beaches and is a popular tourist destination. The main transport and commercial centre in the region is
NicoyaNicoya is a town in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province, and one of its most important tourist zones. It serves as a transport hub to Guanacaste's beaches and national parks. According to the 2000 census, the city's population is 13,334—second only to Liberia in the province...
, one of the oldest settlements in Costa Rica.
The
Nicoya Peninsula is a
peninsulaA peninsula is a piece of land that is nearly surrounded by water but connected to mainland via an isthmus. Word origin: Latin paenīnsula : paene, almost + īnsula, island.A peninsula can also be a headland, cape, island promontory, bill, point, or spit....
on the Pacific coast of
Costa RicaCosta Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east.Costa Rica, which translates literally as "Rich Coast", constitutionally...
and lies in the
Guanacaste ProvinceGuanacaste is a province of Costa Rica located in the northwestern part of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. To the north it borders Nicaragua. To the east is the Alajuela Province, and to the southeast is the Puntarenas Province. It is the most sparsely populated of all the...
in the north, and the
Puntarenas ProvincePuntarenas is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast, and it is the largest province in Costa Rica. Clockwise from the northwest it borders on the provinces Guanacaste, Alajuela, San José and Limón, and the...
in the south. It is located at . It varies from 19 to wide and is approximately long, and forms the largest peninsula in the country. It is known for its beaches and is a popular tourist destination. The main transport and commercial centre in the region is
NicoyaNicoya is a town in Costa Rica's Guanacaste province, and one of its most important tourist zones. It serves as a transport hub to Guanacaste's beaches and national parks. According to the 2000 census, the city's population is 13,334—second only to Liberia in the province...
, one of the oldest settlements in Costa Rica.
Places of interest
Other notable settlements and places of interest in the area include (going roughly from north to south):
TamarindoTamarindo is a town located on the Northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica in the Province of Guanacaste at 110° 17.908'N and 85° 50.674'W. The town has approximately 2,000 full time residents, and can swell to 5,000 people during the tourist season. The main attractions are surfing and...
, Santa Cruz,
NosaraNosara is a city in the Nicoya canton, Guanacaste province of Costa Rica on the Pacific Coast.-Geography and demographics:Despite the Nicoya peninsula being one of the last locations with large areas of unpaved roads in Costa Rica, Nosara is one of the oldest expatriate communities in the country,...
, Sámara,
NaranjoNaranjo is the capital city of the canton of Naranjo in the province of Alajuela in Costa Rica. It is also the name of the distrito that includes the city...
, Paquera, Curu, Tambor,
MontezumaMontezuma is a town in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica which began as a remote fishing village and has gained popularity since the 1980s among tourists on a budget....
,
Santa TeresaSanta Teresa is a small, but fast growing town in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. Like other coastal villages on the Nicoya Peninsula, Santa Teresa started as a remote fishing village...
,
Mal PaisMalpais is a town in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica which began as a fishing and cattle-farming village, and has become popular among surfers and adventure travelers around the world...
.
Conservation
There are a number of nature reserves and wildlife refuges such as
Cabo BlancoThe Cabo Blanco Absolute Natural Reserve is a Nature Reserve of Costa Rica, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area in the province of Puntarenas, covering an area of terrestrial and marine on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula near Mal Pais....
,
CamaronalThe Camaronal Wildlife Refuge is a Wildlife refuge of Costa Rica, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area, on the Pacific Coast of the Nicoya Peninsula....
,
Cueva MurciélagoThe Cueva Murciélago Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge of Costa Rica, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area, and protects tropical forest in the coastal areas of the southern Nicoya Peninsula near Cabuya.-External links:* at Costa Rica National Parks...
,
CurúThe Curú Wildlife Refuge is a Wildlife refuge of Costa Rica, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area, tropical dry forests on the southern Nicoya Peninsula, near Tambor...
,
La CeibaThe La Ceiba Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge in Costa Rica, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area, which protects tropical forest on the Nicoya Peninsula near the small village of San Rafael de Paquera in the Puntarenas Province....
,
RomeliaThe Romelia Wildlife Refuge is a Wildlife refuge in Costa Rica, part of the Tempisque Conservation Area, near Montezuma, Costa Rica on the Nicoya Peninsula.-External links:* at Costa Rica National Parks...
and the
Diria National ParkThe Diria National Park, until 2004 the Diria National Forest Wildlife Refuge, is a National Park of Costa Rica south of Santa Cruz in the Guanacaste Province, and forms part of the Tempisque Conservation Area...
, as well as the projects on the islands of the adjacent
Gulf of NicoyaThe Gulf of Nicoya is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, located at . It separates the Nicoya Peninsula from the mainland of Costa Rica, and encompasses a marine and coastal landscape of wetlands, rocky islands and cliffs.-Islands in the Gulf:*Chira Island...
.