Valle Del Sol
Costa Rica Townhouse/Villa Rental
in Guanacaste Province

The weather throughout the province of Guanacaste is characterized by being relatively hot, with well-defined wet and dry seasons. The one exception is the highland portion of the province, which consists of the upper Pacific-facing slopes of the volcanoes in the Guanacaste Cordillera and the northern half of the Tilarán Cordillera. The cool, moist conditions along these ridges support luxuriant cloud forests. Elsewhere, the natural vegetation type originally found in Guanacaste is the now-endangered tropical dry forest.

The tropical dry forest extends from parts of Mexico down the western side of Central America to Costa Rica, where it reaches its southern limit in the general area of the Carara Biological Reserve. Because of the pronounced dry season that affects this habitat type for at least six months out of every year, fire works very well as a land clearing tool, and hence, most of the original forests have long since been removed for agricultural activities, principally cattle ranching. Thus, the noted tropical biologist, Dr. Daniel Janzen, has described the Mesoamerican dry forests as "an endangered habitat." The parks and reserves in Guanacaste protect much of the remaining examples of tropical dry forest in this region.

The annual dry season is caused by the effects of the northeast trade winds that blow in off the Caribbean from November through March. The humid air loses its moisture as it crosses the Caribbean lowlands and the cordilleras, or mountain ranges. Given that the Guanacaste Cordillera is both the lowest and narrowest in the country, there is little to block the passage of the arid air that comes gusting down the western slopes drying out everything in its path, as well as preventing any breezes from bringing in moist air from the Pacific Ocean during these months.

When the trade winds shift northward, air currents once again bring humidity and life-giving rains from the Pacific Ocean. It is remarkable to observe how quickly the parched and brown countryside regains its verdant appearance after the first showers of each new rainy season. In Guanacaste, these afternoon showers usually return by mid-May and continue until about mid-November.