Uvita (Costa Rica)

Uvita de Osa is a small town in southern Costa Rica, on a section of coastline known as the Bahía Ballena. It is notable for hosting the annual music event (Envision Festival) and being home to the Cola de Ballena (Whale's Tail) beach (Playa Uvita) which is one of the beaches comprising Marino Ballena National Park. The Whale's Tail has been described as one of the world's most beautiful beaches. Uvita is a good place to see humpback whales in the wild, as there are groups which come from Northern California and Alaska during one time of the year and groups that come from the south and Antarctica during another time of the year. Uvita has grown tremendously since the early 2000s and is the commercial center of the Costa Ballena region. Many expatriates from North America and Europe have made Uvita their home, so many of the locals speak English as well as Spanish.

Tourism

Uvita has become the tourist and adventure tour hub of the Costa Ballena region. The town offers several tours ranging from whale watching to horseback riding. The town is also known for its many restaurants and accommodations catering to tourists.

Wildlife

The region around Uvita is home to a large variety of animals.

Birds

At Hacienda Baru National Wildlife Preserve, fifteen minutes north of Uvita, more than 350 different species of birds have been identified. This number is more than one third of all the species of birds which have been identified in the entire United States and Canada combined.

• Scarlet Macaw
• Green and Little Blue Herons
• American White Pelican
• Many varieties of Hummingbirds
• Many other species of birds, such as fiery-billed aracaris, collared aracaris, broad-winged hawks, great kiskadees, hook-billed kites, slaty-tailed trogons, flycatchers, chachalacas, crested oropendolas, collared forest falcons, chestnut-mandibled toucans, red lored parrots, saltators, orioles, kingfishers, crimson-fronted parakeets and orange-chinned parakeets.

Insects

• Hercules Beetle
• Scarabs
• Leaf-Cutter and Army Ants
• Blue Morpho and Glasswing Butterfly
• Thaos Swallowtail

Mammals

• Howler Monkey and Capuchin Monkey
• Baird's Tapir
• Pumas
• Jaguarundis
• Margays
• Ocelots
• Vampire Bats

• Bottlenose Dolphins
• Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
• Humpback Whales
• False Killer Whales
• Pilot Whales

Reptiles

• Green Sea Turtles
• Olive Ridley Turtles
• Yellow-bellied Sea Snake
• Green or Black Iguana
• Striped Basilisk
• Boa Constrictors
• eyelash viper
• bushmaster
• fer de lance
• Spectacled Caiman
• American Crocodile

Fish

• White-tipped reef shark
• Nurse Shark
• Cortez Angelfish
• Butterfly fish
• Parrot Fish
• Puffer Fish

Amphibians

• Giant Toad
• Red-Eyed Tree Frog
• Dart Frog
• Glass Frog