Tortuguero National Park
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| Tortuguero National Park, located in the northeast part of Costa Rica’s Atlantic coast, is one of Costa Rica's best known parks, and not without any reason. Besides being the most important nesting site for the green turtle, in the entire western half of the Caribbean, it also serves as a refuge for other turtles, such as leatherbacks, and hawksbills. | |
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The park and the refuge consist of a vast alluvial floodplain formed by the coalescence of deltas from rivers, twisting and meandering into the ancient Nicaraguan Trench. The location of the area makes it one of the wettest regions in the country. |
| The wildlife here
is rich and varied. There are unusually large populations
of monkeys, anurans (which are a species of amphibians), birds
and fish.
Resident fauna include the tapir, ocelots, jaguars, collared peccaries, river otters, sloths, grisons (furry, weasel-like mammal native to Mexico, Central America, and South America), frogs, macaws, toucans, and the fascinating bulldog bats (which feed on fish). |
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The flora in this area is also very rich and abundant. Some of the species found in this region are crab wood, coconut trees, banak, tamarind, bully tree, orchids, hollio palm, and heliconias. |
The park is located in the northeast part of Costa Rica, on the Atlantic coast. The traditional way to reach the small town of tortuguero, where the park headquarters is, and other services are also available, is to take the canal trip from the port of Moin near the town of Limón. To get to Limón take the Braulio Carrillo highway to Guapiles and then the Sao Pin road to Limón.
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