Carara National Park
| Carara National Park | |
|---|---|
Entrance | |
Carara National Park area. | |
| Location | Costa Rica |
| Coordinates | 9°44′50″N 84°37′40″W / 9.74722°N 84.62778°W |
| Area | 52 km2 (20 sq mi) |
| Established | 1978 |
| Governing body | National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) |
Carara National Park is a national park in the Central Pacific Conservation Area located near the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. It was established on 27 April 1978 as a biological reserve, but its growing popularity after 1990 forced the government to upgrade its category to national park in November 1998.
Carara lies about 48 km (30 mi) west of the Costa Rican capital of San José and about 24 km (15 mi) miles north of the beach town of Jacó. The park protects the river basin of the River Tárcoles, near Orotina and includes the second-largest remaining populations of wild scarlet macaws in the country.