Sec­ond only in size to the Ama­zon rain­for­est in Brazil, Nicaragua’s Bosawas Bios­phere Reserve was estab­lished in 1997 to pro­tect the bio­di­ver­si­ty found in this north­ern cor­ner of the coun­try. The reserve also pro­tects the free flow of species between Mex­i­co and Cen­tral Amer­i­ca. A bird­er’s par­adise, you’ll find that 600 of the 790 bird species that call Nicaragua home live in this reserve. You’ll also find plen­ty of mam­mals, includ­ing jaguars, Baird’s tapir, and spi­der mon­keys in the trees and on the for­est floor.