Wildlife · Nationwide parks, refuges and highways

Semana Santa 2026: Costa Rica Puts 675 People on Wildlife Patrol

Costa Rica's park service, SINAC, planned a nationwide Holy Week operation from March 28 to April 5, 2026, with 675 people and 616 patrols, park checks and roadside checkpoints. The goal was to stop hunting, egg and animal extraction, and the illegal transport and sale of wild plants and animals during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica Steps Up Holy Week Patrols Against Poaching and Wildlife Trafficking (2026-03-17)

Holy Week is when Costa Rica's beaches, volcanoes and rainforest trails fill with families on holiday, and it's also when poachers and wildlife traffickers have the most cover. For Semana Santa 2026, the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) scheduled a nationwide enforcement push from Saturday, March 28, through Sunday, April 5, as The Tico Times reported on March 17.

It's worth being clear about what this was: a plan for more patrols and checkpoints during one week. It wasn't a promise that poaching would stop, and as of late October 2026 we couldn't find a published tally of what the 2026 operation turned up.

What SINAC planned for Holy Week 2026

According to MINAE's figures, published by Delfino.cr on March 10, the operation called for 616 separate prevention, protection and control activities across the country's protected areas and on national highways. The Tico Times put the headcount at about 700; the official breakdown is 675 people:

• 406 SINAC staff, including park rangers
• 145 officers from other state agencies, such as the Fuerza Pública police, Border Police, Coast Guard and Fiscal Police
• 124 volunteers

El Observador reported that foot and vehicle patrols made up almost 45% of the planned work. The rest included monitoring visitor traffic inside parks, answering environmental complaints, staffing fixed guard posts and running roadside checkpoints to catch people moving wild animals, plants or timber. MINAE budgeted about ¢16.8 million for travel, fuel and food for the teams.

Minister Franz Tattenbach said the goal was to prevent the extraction, hunting, illegal transport, captive keeping and sale of wild species. Parks kept their normal opening hours all week.

Why Holy Week gets extra attention

Semana Santa is one of the two busiest holiday periods of the year in Costa Rica, along with the Christmas and New Year break. Many Costa Ricans head to the coast or the mountains, and protected areas see a surge of domestic and foreign visitors at the same time.

That mix creates two problems for rangers. First, more people means more pressure on trails, beaches and wildlife, including people slipping into parks through unofficial routes. Second, it overlaps with the dry season and with nesting season for many birds, when chicks are easiest to take from nests. Rangers in Osa, for example, say late March and early April is the peak period for raiding macaw and parrot nests, which we cover in our story on Osa's nesting season.

What earlier Holy Week operations found

No 2026 results had been released when we checked, but past years give a sense of what these operations catch.

• 2024: After the March 23 to 31 operation, SINAC filed 93 criminal complaints for environmental crimes naming 112 suspects, seized 284 plant and animal specimens plus 78 objects such as hunting gear, logging tools and weapons, and logged 558 entries into protected areas through unofficial access points, Teletica reported.
• 2025: During the April 12 to 20 operation, 378 SINAC staff worked more than 13,000 hours. MINAE reported 162 illegal entries, against 85,887 legal ones, and 48 incident reports sent to prosecutors, according to El Observador. At least 24 injured or newborn animals were handed to volunteers for care.

Year-to-year numbers aren't directly comparable, since staffing, dates and counting methods change. But they show that each Holy Week brings a steady stream of hunting, extraction and trespassing cases.

A new law on illegal park entries arrived weeks later

Shortly after Holy Week, a reform to the National Parks Service Law was published, and Delfino.cr reported that its fines would apply from April 30, 2026. It sets fines tied to the government's base salary for entering restricted zones, selling tours to unauthorized sites and guiding visitors into high-risk areas, plus charges for specialized rescues. Our story on 408 unauthorized park entries over the holidays explains why lawmakers moved on this.

What it means if you're visiting a park

If you're planning a trip around a long holiday, a few practical points hold every year, and our guide to responsible ecotourism tours explains how to pick a guide who follows the rules:

• Book ahead. Popular parks such as Manuel Antonio, Poás Volcano and Tortuguero sell entry through SINAC's online system, SICORE. Some smaller parks still sell tickets only at the entrance.
• Use official entrances and marked trails. Shortcuts through private land or closed sectors are exactly what patrols are looking for, and they now carry steep fines.
• Expect checkpoints. Roadside stops during holiday operations are looking for wild animals, plants and wood being moved without permits.
• Don't buy wildlife. Parrots, turtle eggs, orchids and other wild species sold by the road are often taken illegally. Buying them keeps the trade going. If you find an injured or orphaned animal, call SINAC and let one of the country's licensed wildlife rescue centers take over.

You can find parks and other protected areas on our national parks map. For the bigger picture on how trafficking is changing, see how prosecutors say wildlife trafficking is moving online.

Frequently asked questions

Are Costa Rica's national parks open during Semana Santa?

Yes. SINAC said parks and other protected areas kept their normal schedules during Holy Week 2026. Popular parks can sell out, so it's best to reserve through SINAC's online system in advance.

When was Semana Santa 2026 in Costa Rica?

Holy Week 2026 ran from Palm Sunday, March 29, to Easter Sunday, April 5. SINAC's enforcement operation covered March 28 to April 5.

How many people worked SINAC's 2026 Holy Week operation?

MINAE planned for 675 people: 406 SINAC staff, 145 officers from other state agencies and 124 volunteers, carrying out 616 patrols, checkpoints and other control activities.

What happens if you enter a Costa Rican national park illegally?

Since April 30, 2026, a reformed National Parks Service Law sets fines for entering restricted areas, with higher fines for tour operators and guides who take visitors to unauthorized or high-risk sites, plus charges for specialized rescues.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Steps Up Holy Week Patrols Against Poaching and Wildlife Trafficking (2026-03-17)
2. Delfino.cr: Minae reforzará vigilancia para evitar delitos ambientales durante Semana Santa (2026-03-10)
3. El Observador: Sinac activará operativos para evitar cacería y tráfico de fauna en Semana Santa (2026-03-15)
4. El Observador: Minae detectó ingreso ilegal de 162 personas durante Semana Santa a áreas silvestres protegidas (2025-04-27)
5. Teletica: SINAC presentó 93 denuncias por delitos ambientales durante la Semana Santa (2024-04-29)
6. Delfino.cr: Multas millonarias por ingresos ilegales a parques nacionales se aplicarán a partir del 30 de abril (2026-04-21)
7. SINAC: SICORE online reservation and ticket system

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.