It is located in the northern part of the country and stretches from Las Haciendas River in Upala to the Sarapiqui River in Virgen de Sarapiqui (Inalienable National Wildlife Refuge Area in the Border Corridor). It limits the north with Nicaragua. On the west side it is adjacent to the Guanacaste Mountain Range and to the east by the Sarapiqui River and the Yellow River Toro. South borders with the canton of Naranjo.
The ACA-HN protects and preserves outstanding resources such as the rain forest, the montane rain; ecosystems for biological research, wetlands (which are shelter, feeding and reproduction places for wildlife), water resources, of great importance for the Northern Zone in hydropower production and human consumption, geomorphological features such as: volcanic spotlights active and inactive, etc.; Moreover, the protected areas are inhabited by the green macaw (Lapa Verde).