Sarapiquí is a "canton" in the northeastern province of Heredia, Costa Rica. It occupies 85% of the total land area of the Heredia Province. The town of Puerto Viejo is the population center and political seat of the Sarapiquí county. It is located at the confluence of the Sarapiquí and Puerto Viejo rivers, 30 kilometers south of the Nicaraguan border. The town is in an area that was formerly lowland rain forest. The land to the south rises very gradually to 3,000 meters in elevation over a distance of 35 kilometers.

Sarapiquí has been a center of conservation activity in Costa Rica for many years, originally due to the presence of La Selva just south of Puerto Viejo. La Selva is the international biological research station owned by the Organization for Tropical Studies, a consortium of approximately 50 universities in the United States and Costa Rica. La Selva works closely with the surrounding community by involving them directly in the research being carried out by using their farms as study sites while at the same time educating them in new conservation techniques, new viable native species for reforestation, etc. La Selva also offers a course to train locals as naturalist guides.

In the 1980s, the Braulio Carrillo National Park was created in the mountains to the south of La Selva. The Park was subsequently extended 20 kilometers northward to connect with the research station. This extension was accomplished through an international effort that raised two million dollars.

The Braulio Carrillo National Park and its extension occupy the heart of the Sarapiquí county and have formed the nucleus for a variety of conservation efforts and nature tourism projects.

Various nature tourism projects include Selva Tica, Islas del Rio, Rancho Leona which provides kayak trips on the Sarapiquí River, Rara Avis, Selva Verde and their community learning center, various individuals with small private reserves, and entrepreneurs selling "eco-art", secondary products from the forest, etc. The most well known of these projects are "Rara Avis of Costa Rica" and "Selva Verde Lodge".

A problem which exists for the nature tourism businesses in the area is that the lower elevations of the Braulio Carrillo National Park are difficult to access, making it inconvenient for direct use by the nature tourism projects. For example, the Rara Avis property borders directly on the Park, however, access to the hotel involves a ride in a tractor-pulled cart that takes four hours, more if it is raining. There are also a number of small nature tourism projects in the region which include no forest of their own and, therefore, cannot offer forest access to their clients. La Selva is for scientific use and Selva Verde Lodge is only available to residents and guests of the Lodge. The Park itself is too remote for tourists to access easily.