Costa Rica is a small, rugged, rainforested Central American country with coastlines on the Caribbean and Pacific. Since the late 1980's Costa Rica became a popular nature travel destination, and its main competitive advantage is its well-established system of national parks and protected areas and home to a rich variety of flora and fauna. Costa Rica is also known for its beaches, volcanoes, immense biodiversity and progressive environmental policies, being the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability.