All 2 in 3 days here: ~70%
Tenorio Volcano National Park
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Northern Highlands, Costa Rica 1135 spp. recorded
Tenorio Volcano National Park protects 12,867 hectares of pristine cloud forest and rainforest on the slopes of Volcán Tenorio, home to the legendary Río Celeste — a river that turns an impossible shade of turquoise blue where volcanic minerals meet the water. The park harbors one of Costa Rica's most important populations of Baird's tapir, alongside jaguars, pumas, three species of monkeys, and over 300 bird species including the rare bare-necked umbrellabird and tody motmot.
10.679° N 85.015° W
🦜 Nature
688 Species sighted
183,919 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
🌙 Most active after dark
+ 487 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
All 3 in 3 days here: ~70%
All 4 in 3 days here: ~20%
All 5 in 3 days here: ~10%
Recent sightings in Tenorio Volcano National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
68Jan
65Feb
71Mar
71Apr
81May
65Jun
69Jul
64Aug
61Sep
78Oct
64Nov
74Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Bijagua · Tapir Valley
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Red-eyed Treefrog~90%+10%
Scarlet-rumped Tanager~80%+20%
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird~80%≈
Fer-de-lance~70%+30%
Clay-colored Thrush~70%≈
White-nosed Coati~70%+20%
Red-webbed Tree Frog~70%+30%
Black-mandibled Toucan~70%+10%
Vaillant's Frog~70%+30%
Great Kiskadee~70%+10%
Common Tody-Flycatcher~60%+20%
Yellow-throated Euphonia~60%+10%
-
The Hideaway At Río Celeste
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Middle American Ameiva~90%+20%
Cope's Vine Snake~80%+40%- White-nosed Coati~80%+30%
Warszewitsch's Frog~80%+30%
Central American White-faced Capuchin~70%+30%- Red-eyed Treefrog~70%-10%
Helmeted Iguana~60%+20%
Masked Tree Frog~60%+20%
Brown-throated Sloth~60%-10%
Border Anole~60%+10%
Basiisk Verde~50%+20%
Pygmy Rain Frog~50%+20%
-
Quebrada Vueltas
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Giant Marine Toad~80%+40%
Mantled Howler Monkey~80%+30%
Common House Gecko~80%+50%
Turkey Vulture~70%+20%- Middle American Ameiva~70%+10%
Strawberry Poison-dart Frog~70%+10%
Variegated Squirrel~60%+40%- Fer-de-lance~60%+20%
Stream Anole~60%+40%
Keel-billed Toucan~60%≈
Northern Tamandua~50%+30%- Masked Tree Frog~50%+10%
-
Ecolodge Lago Coter
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- Strawberry Poison-dart Frog~80%+20%
- Middle American Ameiva~70%+10%
- Great Kiskadee~70%+10%
- Scarlet-rumped Tanager~70%+10%
- Clay-colored Thrush~60%-10%
- Giant Marine Toad~60%+20%
Fitzinger's Robber Frog~60%+30%- Red-eyed Treefrog~60%-20%
Sipurio Snouted Treefrog~60%+20%- Turkey Vulture~60%+10%
- Keel-billed Toucan~60%≈
- Yellow-throated Euphonia~60%≈
-
Las Heliconias Lodge and hanging bridges
Daily sight. prob.vs avg- Red-eyed Treefrog~90%+10%
- Brown-throated Sloth~90%+20%
- Strawberry Poison-dart Frog~80%+20%
- Middle American Ameiva~70%≈
Spotted Least Gecko~60%+30%- Masked Tree Frog~60%+20%
- Mantled Howler Monkey~60%+20%
- Clay-colored Thrush~50%-20%
- Rufous-tailed Hummingbird~50%-20%
- Helmeted Iguana~50%+10%
- Border Anole~50%+10%
- Giant Marine Toad~50%+10%
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
High
Typical stay
1–2
daysTrails
Hard
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.3
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 734
🐒 Mammals 183
🦎 Reptiles 132
🐸 Amphibians 86
1135 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
30 Threatened 82 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
ExcellentHow likely to see animals?
4.3
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
65% 📊
Coverage (320 species at ≥5% of 1135 in the inventory)
28% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (8 bird, 2 amphibian, 1 mammal, 1 reptile)
69% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
180 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
22 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
35 🏕️
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
2.9
Climate Mixed Medium
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism High Low
Trails Hard Low
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
One group near us actually spotted a deadly viper just off the trail (yikes!)—a good reminder to always keep an eye on your surroundings!
Though it wasn’t the bright, banana-yellow color morph I was hoping to see, the viper was tolerant enough to allow us to observe it for quite a while within close proximity, making the encounter all the more memorable.
A lovely little anecdote: just before arriving in the area, we spotted two sloths in the trees.
Taking the road less travelled, we made our way to Tenorio Volcano National Park, which is located roughly 2 hours away from Arenal Volcano or about 2 hours away from Liberia, Costa Rica.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Tenorio Volcano National Park?
1,135 species
Tenorio Volcano National Park has 1,135 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Red-eyed Treefrog (about 80%), Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (about 70%), Clay-colored Thrush (about 70%), Brown-throated Sloth (about 70%) and Middle American Ameiva (about 70%).
When is the best time to visit Tenorio Volcano National Park for wildlife?
January, March, May and July–August
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 60% in February, April, June and September–December.
Can you see a Baird's Tapir in Tenorio Volcano National Park?
Yes
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Baird's Tapir sighting in Tenorio Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 248 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is January and February (about 60%).
Can you see a Red-eyed Treefrog in Tenorio Volcano National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Red-eyed Treefrog sighting in Tenorio Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 305 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is July (about 90%).
Can you see a Strawberry Poison-dart Frog in Tenorio Volcano National Park?
Yes
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Strawberry Poison-dart Frog sighting in Tenorio Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 137 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June and July (about 80%).
Can you see a Mantled Howler Monkey in Tenorio Volcano National Park?
Yes
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Mantled Howler Monkey sighting in Tenorio Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 67 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is March, May, July, October and December (about 50%).
Where in Tenorio Volcano National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Bijagua · Tapir Valley
The richest sighting zone is around Bijagua · Tapir Valley, followed by The Hideaway At Río Celeste and Quebrada Vueltas, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Tenorio Volcano National Park good for wildlife watching?
4.3 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Tenorio Volcano National Park rates 4.3/5: 83rd of 316 parks worldwide and 9th in Central America. 51 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
