Finca La Palma is a lovely 865-acre (350 hectares) cattle farm and forest preserve situated among the rolling hills just under two miles from the important regional town of Nicoya in Guanacaste. Nicoya is the center of cattle farming in Costa Rica; the region produces the lion's share of the country's beef for both domestic consumption and export. Half of this expansive farm is lush undulating pastureland irrigated by swift flowing streams that later form the Chimpanse and Perico Rivers. The other half is secondary growth forest that is perfect for a wildlife sanctuary or eco-development. Nicoya, considered the oldest settlement in Costa Rica and the rival of Cartagena, Colombia as the oldest town is Central America, is right in the center of the Nicoya Peninsula, approximately 90 minutes from Liberia, the capital of Guanacaste. A 40-minute drive east takes you to the Tempisque Bridge across the Gulf of Nicoya to the mainland, while an hour's drive west brings you to the bustling beach resort of Samara/Carillo/Guanamar on the Pacific Ocean.

Thanks to its abundant pastureland and large tract of lush green secondary growth forest, Finca La Palma can be used for commercial cattle ranching, as a forest wildlife sanctuary, or as the center of an eco-development project.

LOCATION: Two miles from Chorotega Stadium, Nicoya, on the road to Quiriman.

PRICE: $4,000,000

For more farms and forest sanctuaries, see Osa Peninsula land for eco-development