Passing through lovely lush dense forests, which play host to a fabulous array of exotic plant and wildlife, many rare and endangered animals and birds live here including jaguars and tapirs. From these mountains also flow various rivers that roll down to form an alluvial plain drained by the Rio Tempisque. This river in turns nurtures the province before emptying itself into the Golfo de Nicoya.

A region steep in culture, the name Guanacaste is derived from the word quahnacaztlan, which is a native word for the Guanacaste tree. This tree is the national tree of Costa Rica.