Tortuguero Costa Rica

A major Green Sea Turtle nesting grounds is located in Tortuguero (Place with many turtles) National Park 52 miles (84 km) northwest of the city of Limon. This nesting area consists of 22 miles (36 km) of protected beach on the Caribbean Coast. All transportation into the area of Tortuguero consists of two legs. One choice is to fly from San Jose (about a 30 minute flight) and then board a boat that will take you up the system of canals to the hotels in that area. Flying over this area will allow you to see the banana plantations that create huge green rectangles in the otherwise random wildness of the rain forest. You can also choose to take a bus from San Jose (about 2 hours) to the point where you will board the boat that will take you into the ecosystem of the Tortuguero Canals. The canals are the only way to get around in this area and are great fun. The trip along the coast takes around 4 hours, where you will be greeted by abundant wildlife such as birds, sloths, river turtles, caiman, and crocodiles. This will be an unforgettable experience with the nature of the Caribbean/Atlantic Coast.

Tortuguero is a small village that can be walked in five minutes from one side to the other on a dirt path. There are no cars, but there are many dugout canoes, some with motors attached and others with only paddles. The town of Tortuguero is very basic and you will find that hotels surround the entrance of the national park. There are places with budget rooms or luxury rooms, with variety of delicious Caribbean restaurants. Most of the people either speak English or Patua. From here you can arrange fishing trips or admire the sunrise on a dawn boat, as well as going for a turtle walk. Tortuguero National Park protects over 300 species of birds and mammals, including endangered species such as Green Macaws, jaguars and many of our sea turtles.

The Caribbean Conservation Corporation has been instrumental in saving the turtles in many ways. Its work in Tortuguero includes a major turtle-tagging program which helps track the turtles’ travels and nesting activities. The park has one of the most important nesting sites in the world for the Green Sea Turtle, the Hawksbill, with its distinctive hooked beak; and the ridged leatherback (Tortuga Baula). The loggerhead turtle is a very infrequent nester here, and is easily recognizable by the large size of its head, about twice that of a green turtle in proportion to its body, and its relatively small flippers. The animals are drawn to this area not only to lay their eggs, but also to graze in the pastures Sargasso seaweed, their favorite food.

While turtles have been known to lay their eggs during daylight hours, it is far more common to find them, waddling in a surreal procession from the sea to make their egg-nest in the sand, to lay their eggs at night. Nesting can take place a turtle at a time, a single mother scrambling solo up the beach. More commonly, you'll see them in groups (arribadas), dozens of them emerging from the sea, marching up the sands to their chosen spots, safely above the high tide mark. Each turtle digs a hole in which she lays eighty or more eggs. The noise they make, the collective whirring of dozens of flippers flailing away at the sand, is something visitors will never forget. Her business complete, eggs laid and covered with sand, the turtle marches back to the sea, leaving her eggs to hatch under the heat of the sun. Incubation takes some weeks, but, finally, the hatchlings emerge and instinctively follow the light of the moon on the water, immersing themselves in the safety of the ocean. Observing nesting turtles and the abundant wildlife in Tortuguero is an experience worth taking; Tortuguero a place where lots of fun and adventures await you!

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