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Costa Rica Costa Rica arboretum

Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar

Guanlong D. · CC BY 2.0

10% trees around it and 478 species recorded.

33Forestyas Score

ArboretumMountain forestBirdsWildlife

  • trees within 3 km10%
  • wild within 10 km50%
  • species recorded478
  • Altitude1,158 m

The forest around

10% trees.

Read like the rings of a cut trunk: from the centre out, the land within 1, 3, 6 and 10 km, coloured by what covers it.

Trees 13%Grassland 2%Built-up 85%Trees 9%Grassland 2%Built-up 88%Trees 27%Grassland 8%Bare ground 0%Built-up 65%Trees 48%Grassland 13%Bare ground 0%Built-up 38%10%trees · 3 km

Trees, ring by ring

  • 0–1 km13%
  • 1–3 km9%
  • 3–6 km27%
  • 6–10 km48%

What covers the land (1–3 km)

  • Trees9%
  • Grassland2%
  • Bare ground0%
  • Built-up88%

ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m, from Sentinel satellites), sampled every 120 m. A clearing, a road or a lake counts as what it is.

Who lives here

478 species recorded.

The plants, fungi, birds and mammals people have recorded here most often.

Polyclathra cucumerina
Polyclathra cucumerinaPolyclathra cucumerina19 recordsDick Culbert · CC BY 2.0
Kidney bean
Kidney beanPhaseolus vulgaris17 recordsRasbak · CC BY-SA 3.0
Euphorbia prostrata
Euphorbia prostrataEuphorbia prostrata14 recordstoony · CC BY-SA 3.0
Twoflower passionflower
Twoflower passionflowerPassiflora biflora11 recordsC T Johansson · CC BY 3.0
Pink trumpet-tree
Pink trumpet-treeTabebuia rosea11 recordsJosé David Villalobos Robles · CC BY 3.0
Nandi Flame
Nandi FlameSpathodea campanulata10 recordsSteven Haw · CC BY 2.0
Rose evening primrose
Rose evening primroseOenothera rosea10 recordsHerbarium of the University of Coimbra (COI) · CC BY 4.0
Scarletbush
ScarletbushHamelia patens8 recordsForest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0
Yellow Trumpetbush
Yellow TrumpetbushTecoma stans8 recordsFilo gèn' · CC BY-SA 4.0
Goosefoot
GoosefootDysphania ambrosioides8 recordsUnknown author · Public domain
Rockweed
RockweedPilea microphylla7 recordsForest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0
Swiss Cheese plant
Swiss Cheese plantMonstera deliciosa5 recordsUnknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0

Open records within 2 km (GBIF, licensed for any use). Busy places are better recorded than remote ones.

In numbers

The forest, measured.

33out of 100

Our own rating, from open data only: tree cover (40 points), wildness (20), species recorded (30) and protection or heritage (10).

  • 10%Treesof the land within 3 km
  • 50%Wildno towns or farmland within 10 km
  • 478Speciesrecorded more than once within 2 km
  • 1,158 mAltitudeabove the sea

When to walk

Best for walking from December to February.

How good each month is for a walk: mild days and little rain make the bar taller.

  1. Jan27°18°38 mm
  2. Feb28°19°22 mm
  3. Mar30°19°29 mm
  4. Apr30°20°76 mm
  5. May28°21°220 mm
  6. Jun26°21°209 mm
  7. Jul26°20°184 mm
  8. Aug26°20°198 mm
  9. Sep26°20°256 mm
  10. Oct25°20°301 mm
  11. Nov26°19°188 mm
  12. Dec26°19°70 mm
  • Bar: walking comfort; the number on top is the average maximum.
  • Below: average minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar.

Zoo and botanical garden in Costa Rica

Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar is an arboretum in Costa Rica, 1,158 m above the sea.

Seen from space, 10% of the land within 3 km is trees, and 50% of the land within 10 km has no towns or farmland.

478 species have been recorded around it: 198 plants, 16 fungi, 249 birds and 15 mammals.

The most recorded plants are: Polyclathra cucumerina, Kidney bean and Euphorbia prostrata.

The best time to walk is from December to February.

Parque Bolívar SJCR
Guanlong D. · CC BY 2.0

Get there and walk

  • Official informationAccess, hours and rules from those who manage the place.Official site
  • Guías y Scouts (Tropa 25, Tibás)campsite · 2.8 km · 6 within 10 km
  • Hemingway Innplace to stay · 0.2 km · 329 within 10 km
  • Calle Blancosnearest town · 0.9 km in a straight line
  • Tobías Bolaños International Airport (SYQ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 8 km in a straight lineCar hire at SJO airport (San José)Discover Cars · sponsored link

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at SJO airport (San José)Discover CarsSee prices 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The forest and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the trails, notable trees, picnic sites and huts that OpenStreetMap shows.

Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 5named and notable trees within 6 kmFicus, Erythrina, El Higuerón de San Pedro and 2 more
  • 2picnic sites within 4 km
  • 11shelters and huts within 6 kmPunto de Reunión, Kiosco de la Música and 9 more
  • 2viewpoints within 5 km
  • 936car parks within 3 km
  • 6campsites within 10 kmGuías y Scouts (Tropa 25, Tibás), salon comunal, Potrero Las Rosas and 3 more
  • 329places to stay within 10 kmHemingway Inn, El Maragato, Hotel Colonial and 326 more
  • 779restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • marked trails within 5 km
  • visitor centres within 6 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar.

The mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and canyons around this forest, the viewpoints above it, the birds and the night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas42 mountains within 25 km
Cerro Pico Alto12 kmCerro Rabo de Mico2,428 m · 12 kmCerro Tablazo13 kmCerro Tacuatorí13 kmCerro Cedral2,420 m · 14 kmCerro Zurquí17 kmBarva Volcano2,906 m · 22 kmIrazú Volcano3,432 m · volcano · 24 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The forest, as people saw it.

Simón Bolívar bust statue, San José zoo
Bobjgalindo · CC BY-SA 3.0
Costa Rica Pablo camera 234
Bob J Galindo · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other forests nearby.

Parque Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar

Costa Rica

  • 33Forestyas Score
  • 10%Trees
  • 50%Wild
  • 478Species

Lankester Botanical Garden

Costa Rica · 23 km

  • 60Forestyas Score
  • 39%Trees
  • 85%Wild
  • 356Species

See the guide

Las Cruces biological station and Wilson botanical garden

Costa Rica · 177 km

  • 87Forestyas Score
  • 72%Trees
  • 99%Wild
  • 1,404Species

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q6063251) · CC0
Land coverESA WorldCover 10 m 2021 v200 · © ESA WorldCover project / Copernicus Sentinel data · CC BY 4.0
Species34,207 open records within 2 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only)
See these recordsgbif.org
Names and photosWikidata (CC0); GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Visit
forestsForestyasEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.You are here