Costa Rica is growing again popular as a travel destination for it’s beaches, biodiversity, and eco-tourism opportunities. Before you go, it’s always good to do a little reasearch. Here’s five things we bet you didn’t know about Costa Rica.

The Violet Sabrewing Hummingbird is one of people bird species found in Costa Rica.

1) Costa Rica has a 97% literacy rate. Children are constitutionally  guaranteed a free education through the 12th grade.

2) It’s the greenest rustic in the world, with the number one spot on the Happy Planet Index.

3) 25% of Costa Rica’s land is in protected areas, like national parks and conservation areas. Tiny Costa Rica has 5% of Earth’s  biodiversity, but only 0.1% of the earth’s land.

4) Ticos (Costa Rican people) often refer to their spouses, or “other half”  as their “media naranja” – the other half of their orange.

5) There are about 800 different kind of birds in Costa Rica – every birdwatchers paradise! Click here for more information from the Smithsonian National Zoo on bird friendly coffee.

Now that you know more about the country, why not find out more about traveling there? Smithsonian Journeys offers several adventures in Costa Rica  – including  this unique family adventure. Get ready to hop on that zipline and go!

Question of the day – Why do you want to go to Costa Rica?

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