The Southern Zone has unfortunately suffered a tremendous amount of deforestation at the hands of farmers clearing pasture land and of the United Fruit Company, which cleared the jungle for its banana plantations. Some developers are now reforesting large proportions of the land they’ve bought from these farmers to make it more valuable for real estate purposes.

This deforestation has been rough on the environment. Areas around Uvita and Ojochal look rather arid during the dry season, despite this part of the country being one of the dampest. In some places the reforestation is paying off. The view from a hillside in Ojochal towards the ocean now looks a little greener compared to a photograph of the same view taken about 15 years previously.

The Southern Zone has many national parks, protected zones and indigenous reserves, which guarantee some wonderful nature, wonderful both to explore and enjoy from the balcony of your home. The Ballena National Park near Uvita is a marine park home to many kinds of fish and marine mammals, including whales and dolphins. In the Golfito area you’ll find the Piedras Blancas National Park.

By far the most famous park is the Corcavado National Park on the Osa Peninsula, the place that the National Geographic dubbed as being the most biologically intense place on earth. Here you will find everything from jaguars and peccaries, to many varieties of frogs, birds, and reptiles, as well as several kinds of monkeys.

As mentioned above the Southern Zone is particularly damp, with humidity regularly reaching the upper 80s and 90s. Precipitation is relatively heavy, though not unusually so for Costa Rica, and the dry season runs roughly from December to March.