Tortuguero National Park: famous sea turtle conservation
Area | 77,032 acres |
Location | Limon Province |
Date of Creation | November, 1975 |
Tortuguero is one of Costa Rica's most popular National Parks. It is a wilderness area with great biological variety. The wildlife is rich and diverse, with eleven different defined habitats. These include high rainforest, littoral woodland, slope forest, swamp forest, holillo forest, herbaceous swamp and herbaceous lagoon. Mammals, birds and fish are numerous.
The habitats for which Tortuguero National Park is most famous are the coastal and marine areas. Strong Caribbean currents have provided a long, straight 22-mile expanse of beach, which is a favored nesting ground for sea turtles. Hawksbill, Loggerheads, and Pacific Green turtles nest from July through October. The Leatherback, the largest sea turtle species in the world, nests from February to July.
Water is an abundant natural resource with up to 240 inches of rainfall per year. An infinite number of interconnected channels, waterways, lagoons and lakes are fed by rivers that carry their inland sediment load to the coast. Occasionally, the sediment-filled plain is interrupted by forested rolling hills, composed of ancient volcanic cinder cones, such as Tortuguero Hill and the Lomas de Sierpe, which looms over 1,000 feet.
To the north of Tortuguero National Park is the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge, whose habitats and climate are similar to Tortuguero. To the south end is the mouth of the Parismina River and the Cariari National Wetlands.
There are three park stations within Tortuguero National Park, open for visitor attention from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm:
Cuatro Esquinas Headquarters is at the north end of the park, in the town of Tortuguero. You must pass through this station to get access to the beach area. Three trails are in this area: The El Gavilan trail that leads southward through the forest about a mile and ends on the beach. A short walk north along the beach brings you back to the station. La Ceiba and La Bomba trails take you up Tortuguero hill, to a tower, which provides a scenic vista of the region.
The Sector Jalova Station is on the south end of the park, near Jalova Lagoon, north of the town of Parismina. The El Tucan nature trail begins at the station and parallels the Cano Negro waterway. Two other trails, Trogon and La Ranita Roja, provide short nature hikes.
The Aguas Frias Station is on the western border of the park. You can reach it by turning north off the highway at Guapiles, and driving through the town of Cariari, Pococi. The Los Raudales nature trail leads to the scenic lookout point (1,000') at Lomas del Sierpe.
