Tortuguero

Located on the northern Caribbean side of Costa Rica, the Tortuguero National Park and village is only accessible by plane or boat. The Tortuguero reserve was founded in 1975 and is recognized as home to a large concentration of Costa Rica's wildlife. The reserve consists of 26,604 ha (65,700 acres) of Caribbean lowland tropical rainforest and 45,755 ha (113,000 acres) of Marine Park. There is approximately 35km of beach, 8km is open to the public for guided night visits to see turtles nesting and for walking during the day, the other 27km is protected, permitting only researchers to enter. The dark sand, dangerous sea and ever present sharks keep Tortuguero a non-beach destination, instead, first class nature spotting amongst tropical rainforest, along with the renowned nesting turtles are the major draw cards.

The national park was established out of a need to protect the nesting sites of turtles. As much as the warm waters and large stretches of beach attract many species of turtles, so to the turtles attract many tourists keen on witnessing the nesting of this curious animal. Many visitors come between the months of July and October to get a close encounter with the Green Turtle. Turtles come to this shore in their thousands to lay eggs; sometimes up to 120 eggs in a nesting. After 57 nights the eggs hatch and a mad scramble to the sea pursues; this is just the beginning of the perilous journey beyond the breakers for the turtle. It is estimated that only one turtle out of every 1000 will make it to adulthood and return to reproduce on the same beach. With these odds, turtle protection is taken serious and all turtle viewing must be undertaken with an official guide.

Apart from the guided turtle tours, a guide is essential for making the most out of animal spotting in the surrounding rainforest. Most achieve this from boats that weave through a system of canals and lagoons. From the relative comfort of a boat and accompanied by a guide, it is common to see a large variety of creatures. Animals regularly spotted include: three types of monkeys, two types of sloth, caiman, crocodiles, iguanas, Morpho butterflies, river turtles, and the Jesus Christ lizard. The area also boasts over half of the birds found in Costa Rica including toucans, roseate spoonbills, kingfishers, and many more. Much of the animal spotting may be achieved on the way to Tortuguero when traveling by boat. A popular route to the Tortuguero Village is via a 3 hour trip from Limon's Moin docks weaving through remote jungle.

Two large representations of toucans welcome visitors at the Tortuguero village docks. This remote Caribbean village is populated by a friendly mix of Hispanic, Miskito Indian and Afro-Caribbean people. Surviving on tourism but not overrun by tacky tourist traps; restaurants and stores are attended by folk speaking both Spanish and Creole English. The village lies between the beach bathed by the stirring Caribbean Sea and the calm currents of a channel lagoon which carves through the tropical rainforest. At one extremity of the town a trail leads from the ranger's station through the national park while on the other the Caribbean Conservation Corporation maintains a visitor's centre educating on the areas ecosystems and plight of the Tortuguero turtles. The village and surrounding lodges make a great base for exploring the unique wilderness of the magical Tortuguero National Park and Amazon river-like waterways.