There can be no better country in the world for a horse riding holiday than in Costa Rica. The Republic of Costa Rica is a tranquil haven of democracy in Central America, with a staggering record of excellence in all environmental and human rights issues. You'll ride on palm-fringed beaches, by glorious waterfalls, past active volcanoes and through mystical cloud forest. Costa Rica possesses the greatest density of species in the world so you'll see amazing, diverse flora and fauna all from horseback. Costa Rica protects approximately 23% of its territory in conservation areas - which is the highest percentage of any country in the world. Horse riders are born nature lovers so come and spoil yourself on one of our horse riding holidays in what is considered the 'greenest' country in the world!
This tiny country has notched up many 'firsts' to be very proud of. It is first in the Happy Planet Index. This index measures how much of the Earth's resources a country uses and as a result how happy its inhabitants are. If you want to live a long and happy life then come to Costa Rica! The Republic also ranks first amongst all the Americas in the Environmental Performance Index. In addition it plans to be the first carbon neutral nation in the world by 2021. Lastly an historic 'first' - Costa Rica was the first country in the world to abolish its army.
So where is this tiny, peaceful country with an outstanding record on environmental issues and great respect for human rights? It is situated in Central America. Its neighbour to the north is Nicaragua and to the east & south is Panama. Then there are over a thousand glorious kilometres of Pacific coastline to the west & south and over 200 kilometres of Caribbean beaches to the east.
The area that is now called Costa Rica (meaning rich coast) was once a Spanish colony - hence the official language is Spanish. The first European to arrive on its shores was Christopher Columbus in 1503. During colonial times Costa Rica was largely ignored by Spain. This meant the country drifted into poverty but also meant it could develop in its own way - which makes it the wonderful country it is today.
The landmass that is Costa Rica represents only approximately 0.1% of the world's total landmass area. However this tiny country has 5% of the world's biodiversity. Costa Rica's national reserves protect an astonishing number of plants, birds, reptiles, insects and mammals. These include over 400 species of birds, big cats, tapirs, monkeys, sloths, green, leatherback, hawkesbill and loggerhead turtles, spiny tailed iguana (world's fastest lizard) and many many more.
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