Tortuguero National Park Print e-mail this info

This is one of the few Costa Rican National Parks where walking quietly isn't necessarily the best way to see things.  The marked trail along the beach is used mostly for observing turtle nesting, but the best way to see most of the park is from a boat.  That doesn't mean you can't get a workout while nature watching; there are plenty of places to rent canoes and kayaks (cayucas or botes).

 

 Baby Green Turtle on Its Back
Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas mydas (Spanish-Tortuga Verde) This hatchling was flipped onto his back by a wave on Tortuguero beach. (© 2005 Alexander Gaos)
 
 
The area protected by Tortuguero (turtle catcher) National Park was an archipelago of volcanic islands until alluvial sediments from the interior mountains filled in the spaces and formed a network of marshy islands.  Sand piled up where the river deposited land met the sea, and the turtle nesting beaches of Tortuguero formed.  The exceptionally high rainfall, and rich environment where the freshwater meets the sea makes the beaches, canals, lagoons and wetlands of Tortuguero areas of exceptional biodiversity and opportunity for nature lovers.


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Pages
Introduction to Tortuguero
Turtle Nesting
The Canals
Getting There and When to Visit
 


Services & Amenities


Attractions & Activities


Visitor & Contact Info


e-mail cmcg@minae.go.cr



Quick Facts
Tortuguero National Park covers 19000 hectares. Elevations range from 0.1 to 390 meters (0 to 1280 feet).
The habitats represented here are beach
estuary
margin/edge
marine
freshwater river
tropical rainforest-lowland



Tortuguero was protected as a nesting sanctuary in 1963 and declared a National Park in 1970 largely due to the efforts of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation and a turtle biologist named Archie Carr.


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