Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica, Puntarenas

Introduction :
The Manuel Antonio National Park is located near the city of Quepos in Puntarenas province of Costa Rica and is the smallest national park in Costa Rican. Despite its size, it has been listed as one of the world’s top 12 most beautiful national parks by Forbes business magazine for its beautiful beaches and hiking trails. The Manuel Antonio National Park us famed for its white sand beaches and lush foliage that reach the beaches and huge variety of wild life within a small area and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Costa Rica.

Viewing the park from the hotel resort
Image attribution to dnevill @ Flickr

One of the landmarks of the Manuel Antonio National Park

Beautiful white sands beach at the national park
Image attribution to manueb @ Flickr

The Capuchin Monkey
Image attribution to roaming-the-planet @ Flickr

History :
It was believed that Ponce de Leon, a Spanish explorer was the first to chart to Manuel Antonio into his nagivation map during the expedition search for the Fountain of Youth. The Manuel Antonio National Park is established in November 1972.

One of the unique flora species found in the park
Image attribution to manueb @ Flickr

Hoffman’s Two Toed Sloth is one of the major features of the variety of wild life in the park

Sunset in the Manuel Antonio park

Getting there :
The nearest airport to the national park is the Quepos Managua Airport (XQP) which is just 8 km away from the attraction and is linked with Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) at San Jose which is around 132 km away. If you’re travelling by international one stop flights, you can go to the national park directly from the Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) by a shuttle bus that runs twice a day from San Jose.