Copious rainfall has endowed Costa Rica with an abundance of rivers, but surprisingly, there are very few lakes. Nearly all the country’s rivers begin in the mountains, where many are frothy white water routes perfect for rafting and kayaking. Once those rivers flow into the lowlands, however, they become languid waterways, many of which are lined with verdant walls of vegetation.

Those lowland rivers are excellent routes for trips in small boats or rubber rafts and can be an excellent way to observe some of the country’s extraordinary wildlife. The trees that line most riverbanks may hold lounging iguanas, troops of monkeys, and such birds as ospreys, anhingas, colorful kingfishers, several species of herons and tiny mangrove swallows. Boat trips are offered on such lowland rivers as the Sarapiquí, San Carlos, and Río Frío, in the Northern Zone, and the Tempisque, Bebedero and Corobicí in the Northwest.

The seasonal lake of Caño Negro is also an excellent spot for wildlife watching, whereas larger Lake Arenal is a popular windsurfing spot.

Caño Negro Lake near the country’s northern border, is a bird watchers paradise during the second half of the year, when great flocks of ducks, herons, and other waterfowl gather there. Caño Negro has been designated a wetland of international importance under the RAMSAR convention.

Representations of Caño Negro on most maps are actually misleading, since they show the lake’s extension at the height of the rainy season. Once the rains die down in December, the lake rapidly shrinks, and by February it disappears completely with most of the waterfowl having moved on to the Río Frío –the river into which Caño Negro drains. Consequently the river trip on the Río Frío, which is the most common way of reaching Caño Negro, is often more interesting than actually visiting the lake.