For many years now, Costa Rica has been one of the preferred locations for scientists, filmmakers and TV producers that focus on biodiversity and natural history. 

Be it the legendary voice of British natural historian and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, or the iconic baritone of former United States President Barack Obama, Costa Rica’s natural wonders have been praised and examined in an almost immeasurable amount of ways over the years, and perhaps the most engrossing of all of these have been nature documentaries. 

From a vast back catalog of Natural Geographic specials fully devoted to some of Costa Rica’s most impressive biodiversity hotspots, to the new advent of the format via streaming services, this Central American nation has fully cemented itself as one of the most visually and aurally enthralling corners of the globe for some time now. And as technology in video recording advances, the country’s wide array of motions and textures have never been better depicted. 

In the BBC-Netflix joint production of Life in Color, cameras with revolutionary color-capturing technology were created specifically for the project, in order to depict some of the colors invisible to the human eye and how they play a vital part in rich ecosystems such as Costa Rica’s rainforest. 

Netflix’s Our Great National Parks plays with slow motion and breathtaking drone shots to contrast the beautiful and vast landscapes of the natural world with some of its stunning inner secrets, such as the infamous habitat that is the Costa Rican sloth’s fur. 

The locations and species featured on these works have become so popular that many of the country’s tourist offers have incorporated them into their repertory. From night tours to live first hand the miraculous turtle nesting, to fun trips to sloth reserves, the great thing is that Costa Rica’s natural attractions are so vast and varied that there’ll always be something new to discover. 

So if you’re a fan of nature documentaries, there’s no better time to create your bucket list, search for a comfortable rental option, and see for yourself what has enamored scientists, filmmakers and TV producers for decades.