The Rincón de La Vieja National Park is located in the Guanacaste mountain range, province of Guanacaste and Alajuela, 27-km northeast of Liberia City. The park has an extension of 14.083.9 hectares.

One the biggest benefits of this wild area is the protection of the hydrographic river basins. In this park exist probably the mayor population in wild state of the "Guaria Morada", the national flower. It has a great tourist potential due to the attractive it posses, especially the great beauty and the geologic characteristics.

The solid Rincón de La Vieja, of 1.916 Mts. of altitude, is a compose structure. At the top nine eruptive points has been identified, one active and the others inactive in degradation process. To the south of the crater you can find a pure water lagoon.

At the foot of the volcano, of the south size are the areas called Las Pailas and the Hornilllas ("Kitchen Stoves"), which covers a surface of 50 hectares. It is a site with associated volcanic formations. Hot springs form small streams with very hot water. Solfataric lakes fill small hollows with constantly bubbling muddy water. 

The Rincón de La Vieja presents a large diversity of habitats due to the differences in altitude and precipitation, the volcanic eruptive effect and the type of watershed. In the lower parts the most common trees are: the laurel, the guanacaste, the aceituno, the ardillo, the naked Indian, the bitter cedar and the capulin blanco.

In the intermediate zone that lies between 800 and 1,500 meters above sea level is thickly covered with cupey, the manwood, the jicaro danto, the yos, the iguano, the oak, which grows over 30 meters high and up to 1 meter in diameter.

From 1500 mts up to the top, the forests is short and the trees are covered with muss and toras. The most common species are the cupey, the papayillo, and the crespon oacute. The top of the volcano is cover by ash and vegetation is sparse. Some of the plants are the cupey and the poor man's umbrella.

The vegetation in the northwestern sector of the park is typical of the Atlantic side of the volcano. The forest towers overhead with trees up to 40 meters tall. The understorey is often very mixed with a predominant growth of palms.

Studies carried out in the park have identified 257 species of birds, including the three-wattled bellbird, which is named for its loud and strange metallic call.

Other resident species are the great curassow which thrives in large numbers in the lowlands, black-faced solitaire, Montezuma oropendola, bank swallow, emerald toucanet, elegant trogon, blue-throated goldentail, spectacled owl, white-fronted amazone, bare-necked umbrella bird and guaco.