Amazing Costa Rica Photos • James Kaiser

All photos from Costa Rica: The Complete Guide, the #1 guidebook to Costa Rica

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Every photographer dreams about their work appearing in National Geographic. But only a select few are blessed with the cover. Today I joined the club when National Geographic put my Costa Rican waterfall photo on their November cover! The lead story is "The Search For Happiness" – but the article is flawed because it didn't include my mom's house when the issue arrived ; ) Thank you @natgeo! I'm honored, thrilled, and still pinching myself. #happiness #nationalgeographic #costarica #cover #visitcostarica #natgeo #travel #photography #puravida #waterfall #waterfallwednesday
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Oct 25, 2017 at 1:22pm PDT

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Wander through Costa Rica's rainforest at dusk, put your lips to your palm, and make loud kissing sounds. If you're lucky, a red-eyed tree frog will respond. The rainforest is filled with psychedelic animals, but red-eyed tree frogs are as trippy as a mushroom dipped in LSD. Neon green body. Bright orange toes. Yellow and blue stripes. Blazing red eyes. Pachamama got freaky with Crayolas when she made this frog! #peacefrog #costarica #redeyedtreefrog #frog #rainforest #treefrog #trippy #wildlife #jungle #visitcostarica #costaricapuravida #costaricagram #costaricalife #discovercostarica #explorecostarica #costaricalovers #agalychniscallidryas
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Dec 20, 2018 at 11:39am PST

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Grab your bike, pedal down a dirt road through the jungle, stop at a gorgeous beach. Tropical music and the smell of coconut rice drift through the air. Coral reefs lie offshore. It's Navidad in Costa Rica! + 🌴🎅🏽🌴 + #costarica #puertoviejo #caribbean #beach #beachlife #playapuertoviejo #palmtree #visitcostarica #costaricapuravida #costaricagram #costaricalife #discovercostarica #explorecostarica #costaricalovers #costaricapuravida
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Dec 25, 2018 at 12:42pm PST

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Wishing all mamma mammals out there a happy Mother’s Day! It’s your day to be a sloth. #mothersday #sloth #costarica #slothbaby #tropicalwildlife #wildlife #rainforest #costaricawildlife #costaricalife
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on May 12, 2019 at 11:23am PDT

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Costa Rica is filed with incredible wildlife, but sometimes Mother Nature has a special surprise. While wandering the trails of @bosquedelcabo on the gorgeous Osa Peninsula, I saw this three-toed sloth mother and baby. Sloths often spend hours curled up in a nondescript, furry ball in the treetops. But this mamma was feeling frisky! As she moved through the branches, her baby clung tight to her belly. Found only in the New World tropics, sloths are slow moving vegetarians that can take up to a month to digest food. In Spanish they're called osos perezosos ("lazy bears"). To learn more about sloths in Costa Rica – and where to find them – check out my guidebook "Costa Rica: The Complete Guide" (link in bio). + #costarica #visitcostarica #sloth #babysloth #osapeninsula #bosquedelcabo #cabomatapalo #osoperezoso #adorable #wildlife #roadtripcostarica #nature #wildlifephotography #costaricapuravida #costaricagram #costaricalife #discovercostarica #explorecostarica #costaricawildlife #costaricaliving #costaricawow #costaricanature #madeincostarica #costaricalovers #slothlove #slothsofinstagram #slothstagram #sloths
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Nov 21, 2018 at 9:17am PST

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Sunset at Playa Carrillo, Costa Rica #costarica #sunset #guanacaste #playacarrillo #hammock
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Jan 20, 2016 at 2:08pm PST

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Margays are among the rarest animals in Costa Rica. You can spend a lifetime exploring the rainforest and never catch a glimpse. But one day, wandering the trails near Arenal Volcano, I noticed the branches shaking overhead. It was a feline, black and white, and I had barely raised my camera when it raced down the trunk. This might be the luckiest shot I've ever taken. Not just because margays are rare, but because they're one of only two cat species with enough ankle flexibility to climb down trees head-first. The other is Asia's clouded leopard. This photo has appeared in several publications, but nothing was better than seeing it in "National Geographic Kids." If it helped inspire just one future conservationist, it was worth every bug bite. #costarica #margay #headfirst #visitcostarica #costaricapuravida #costaricagram #costaricalife #discovercostarica #explorecostarica #costaricalovers #wildlife #wildcat #costaricawildlife #ourplanetdaily
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Dec 6, 2018 at 11:49am PST

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Squirrel monkeys are the smallest and most endangered monkeys in Costa Rica. Manuel Antonio marks the northern limit of their range. Listen for whistles and chirps in the trees above – you might catch a glimpse of a troop of several dozen squirrel monkeys. #costarica #monkey #squirrelmonkey #manuelantonio #manuelantonionationalpark #monotiti
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Jan 8, 2016 at 1:22pm PST

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Sunset in Tamarindo. One last dash into the Pacific. #costarica #playatamarindo #beachsunset #tamarindocostarica #visitcostarica #sunset_hunter #beach #beachfront #costaricapuravida #tamarindobeach
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Dec 15, 2018 at 1:43pm PST

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Celebrating World Oceans Day with some of my favorite ocean shots. These spinner dolphins are part of a superpod of 2,000 dolphins found 10-15 miles off Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula. #dolphins #costarica #worldoceansday
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Jun 8, 2015 at 3:16pm PDT

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Aerial shot of Manuel Antonio. One of the best beaches in Costa Rica. This photo was taken from an ultralight airplane, which was basically an unholy alliance of kite, ceiling fan and lawnmower engine. Highly recommended. #costarica #manuelantonio #beach #tropical #manuelantonionationalpark
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Dec 18, 2015 at 2:16pm PST

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Drive down the Nicoya Peninsula's bumpy dirt roads, past farms overlooking the Pacific, down to rocky harbors filled with fishing boats, where a tropical fire lights up the sky. #costarica #sunset #visitcostarica #costaricapuravida #costaricagram #costaricalife #discovercostarica #explorecostarica #costaricalovers #costaricasunset #costarica🇨🇷 #sunsets #sunsetclouds
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Dec 2, 2018 at 3:30pm PST

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Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica. There's a reason surfers love it #costarica #playahermosa #surfing #playahermosacostarica
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Dec 30, 2015 at 3:09pm PST

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Rafting the Río Pacuare, Costa Rica's most beautiful river. #costarica #riopacuare #puravida #rafting
A post shared by James Kaiser (@jameskaiser_) on Jan 10, 2016 at 4:29pm PST