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Established in 1971, PARQUE NACIONAL SANTA ROSA (daily 7.30am-4.30pm; US$6), 35km north of Liberia, is Costa Rica's oldest national park, having been established to protect an area of increasingly rare dry tropical forest. Today it's one of the most popular in the country, thanks to its good trails, great surfing (though poor swimming) and prolific turtle-spotting opportunities. It's also, given a few official restrictions, a great destination for campers , with a couple of sites on the beach. Santa Rosa has an amazingly diverse topography for its size, ranging from mangrove swamp to deciduous forest and savanna. Home to 115 species of mammals - half of them bats - 250 species of birds and 100 types of amphibian and reptile (not to mention 3800 species of moth), Santa Rosa is of prime interest to biologists, attracting researchers from all over the world. Jaguars and pumas prowl the park, but you're unlikely to see them; what you may spot - at least in the dry season - are coati, coyotes and peccaries, often snuffling around watering holes. The appearance of the park changes drastically between the dry season , when the many streams and small lakes dry up, trees lose their leaves, and thirsty animals can be seen at known waterholes, and the wet months , greener but affording fewer animal-viewing opportunities. From August to November, however, you may be able to enjoy the sight of hundreds of Olive Ridley turtles ( llora ) nesting on Playa Nancite by moonlight; September and October are best. Though too rough for swimming, the picturesque beaches of Naranjo and Nancite, about 12km down a bad road from the administration centre, are popular with serious surfers . Santa Rosa's La Casona (Big House), one of Costa Rica's most famous historical sites, burned to the ground in May 2001, depriving the country of one of its oldest buildings, and also of the folkloric museum which the Casona had housed for many years. Plans for reconstruction are reportedly under way.
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