The páramo proper lies above the subpáramo, and is dominated by grasses, rushes, herbs, and low shrubs of the families Gramineae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Rosaceae and Ericaceae.

Asteraceae is the most species-rich, with 73 species, including five endemic genera – Iltisia, Jessea, Laestadia, Talamancalia, and Westoniella.

Twenty species are restricted to the highest páramo elevations (3,500 to 3,819 m) – Azorella biloba, Castilleja quirosii, Draba jorullensis, Lewisia megarhiza, Lysipomia acaulis, Poa chirripoensis, Ranunculus crassirostratus, Senecio kuhbieri, Stevia westonii, Uncinia koyamae, Westoniella chirripoensis, and Westoniella eriocephala.

Twelve are considered true páramo residents, who live year-round in the páramo – the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), black-cheeked warbler (Basileuterus melanogenys), wrenthrush (Zeledonia coronata), flame-throated warbler (Oreothlypis gutturalis), timberline wren (Thryorchilus browni), volcano hummingbird (Selasphorus flammula), black-billed nightingale-thrush (Catharus gracilirostris), sooty thrush (Turdus nigrescens), sooty-capped bush tanager (Chlorospingus pileatus), volcano junco (Junco vulcani), large-footed finch (Pezopetes capitalis), and rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis).

La Amistad International Park, established in 1982, protects the páramo on peaks extending southeastward from Cerro Chirripó, including as Eli, Dúrika, and Kamuk in Costa Rica and Fábrega, Itamut, and Echandi in Panama.