Para aquellos que quieran disfrutar del ecoturismo real en Costa Rica, Sarapiquí ofrece grandes atractivos naturales, donde puede aprender más sobre su naturaleza, flora y fauna. Al visitar sus áreas de selva tropical, ríos y atracciones turísticas, ayuda a su comunidad, que trabaja en conjunto con varias organizaciones privadas para mantener un turismo sostenible y responsable.
Aunque su extensión máxima se encuentra en las planicies del norte de nuestro país, al sur y al oeste, el cantón de Sarapiquí muestra una topografía montañosa, que alberga las laderas de las colinas de la Cordillera Central y algunas de sus estribaciones. Desde las tierras bajas a las tierras altas, el relieve se eleva en grandes terrazas, que son muy fértiles.
Geológicamente se compone principalmente de materiales de los períodos terciario y cuaternario, con rocas volcánicas cuaternarias que dominan la región. Cuenta con dos unidades geomorfológicas, denominadas sedimentación aluvial y origen volcánico.
El sistema fluvial de este cantón es para la vertiente U-Norte de la vertiente del Caribe, a la que pertenecen las cuencas del río Sarapiquí, y Cureña Chirripó.
En Sarapiquí, la vegetación predominante consiste en bosques, pastizales, reforestaciones, charrales, tacotales, cultivos anuales y perennes, entre los que se encuentran bananos, café, especies frutales y, más recientemente, piña. Existen innumerables variedades de reptiles, aves, mamíferos e insectos.
El clima: Sarapiqui está ubicado en la zona tórrida, por lo tanto, tiene un clima tropical con estación seca y lluviosa. El invierno es de mayo a enero o febrero y la estación seca de marzo a mayo, con algunas lluvias esporádicas causadas por frentes fríos del norte. Hacia las montañas, con una altitud promedio de más de 187 m sobre el nivel del mar, el clima tiende a ser suave, en general acompañado de una agradable brisa que lo mantiene fresco. En las zonas medias, cerca de 68 m sobre el mar, la temperatura aumenta y continúa hacia las partes más bajas, las llanuras del Atlántico, con una altitud de aproximadamente 37 m sobre el mar.
La temperatura promedio es de 26 a 28 º C, humedad relativa de 80-90% y radiación solar de 3 a 5 horas diarias, un lugar caluroso y húmedo que se puede recorrer a través de una amplia red de senderos naturales dentro de sus muchas áreas protegidas. , sus bosques, sus humedales, etc., que son de gran importancia para la conservación de la flora y la fauna.
Para llegar allí:
Desde el centro de San José, tome la carretera # 32, que es la misma a Guápiles y Limón.
WHO IS WORKING THERE ?
SARAPIQUÍ CONSERVATION LEARNING CENTER
The Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center (SCLC) is located in the northern Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica and serves many of the communities between the towns of Puerto Viejo (de Sarapiqui) and La Virgen. Our mission is to “link communities and conservation through education and ecotourism”. SCLC is managed by an international board of directors and represented locally by an Executive Director, a receptionist, and an international group of volunteers.
SCLC, offers many programs designed to benefit the local communities and the ecotourists alike. For the visiting tourist wanting a taste of Costa Rica beyond the usual tour stops, SCLC offers local cuisine cooking classes and traditional dance classes. One can also visit a local farm and witness this essential part of life in the Sarapiqui region. For the ecotourist that really wants to step out of their comfort zone, we offer a very popular ‘home-stay’ program that allows the tourist to spend the day (and a night) with a local ‘tico’ family. There is no better way to experience Costa Rica than to live as a ‘tico’, even if it is for only just one day.
In addition to the programs and activities aimed at the ecotourist, SCLC has many programs tailored to help the community (help itself). To this end, SCLC offers the local community 5 levels of English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. As the tourism industry in the area grows, the need for English in this zone will grow along with it and SCLC hopes that our students lead the way. Along with the popular English program, we also conduct environmentally themed classes at 4 of the local area schools. This program gives SCLC direct access to the residents and aims to educate them on the benefits of conservation and living in an environmentally friendly way. Although these 2 programs are very important to the mission of SCLC, we offer so much more.
SCLC also has a growing After School Program (ASP) that gives students from a local school an outlet to explore science, conservation, and ecology. For the aspiring field guides in the region, we have a Bird Club (Club de Aves) that meets every other Saturday with the goal of educating the students in the wealth of bird species that also call the Sarapiqui area home. We are also very proud of our Scholarship (Becados) program. Although public education in Costa Rica is free, many families in this region have financial difficulties and the Becados program helps with funds to be used for uniforms, books, traveling (to school), etc… In exchange for these funds, our scholarship students must maintain high grades, write their sponsors, and participate in various environmental educational activities.
SCLC´s goal is help our community help itself through increased knowledge of the environment, land conservation, English, and the tourism trade. We truly hope and believe that as the area becomes more popular with the casual tourist as well as the ecotourist, our students will be ready and able to support the growth.
Together, you and the SCLC will be helping to fashion a greener future for the Sarapiqui region. Please come by if you are ever in the area…or better yet, make plans to visit our area and stop on in.
Written by: Aaron Simon, SCLC Volunteer
To learn more about the Center or to make a donation, visit: www.learningcentercostarica.org/index.php
E-mail:operations@learningcentercostarica.org
Tel/fax:(506) 2766-6482
