Braulio Carrillo National Park

Driving along Highway 32 in Costa Rica is an unique experience. The highway goes up through the mountains that border the Central Valley. The highway was originally a rail that transported, and connected, coffee from the Central Valley to the Caribbean coast. The Caribbean coast is widely used for exportation of the agricultural goods to the United States and Europe.

In the 1960s, Costa Rica began to clear its natural forests in favor of graze land. The people had decided that if they raised cattle then they could sell the meat to the United States. It turned out that the quality of the meat was not good; therefore there was no profit to be made in the business. In this quick grab for money, the natural forests which had covered over 90% of the country was dwindled to around 15%. 

Hoping to save their natural topography, the Costa Rican government began to create national parks and biological save havens. In 1978, the rain forest and cloud forest lining the highway was established as a national park. This lush greenery is to show what the nation used to look like before its industrialization. Unlike the rest of the highway, no buildings are allowed in this area; therefore the nature is not corrupted and pure. Because this area is protected by the Costa Rican government, the native animals are allowed to flourish. The largest mammal found in the nation is the tapir, a large pig like creature with an elongated snout.

Now why was the rain forest saved? This area along the highway 32 stretch, is named  after Braulio Carrillo a former president of Costa Rica. Carrillo had proposed back in the 1800s for Costa Rica to create a highway system that would connect the nation.T he highway is the reason to why the national park was established. It was to preserve the natural beauty of the nation amidst the rapid industrialization of the nation and the rest of the world.