Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park

In 1975 the Tortuguero National park was established and together with the nature reserve Barra del Colorado it covers 277,742 acres (112,398 hectares) of land and 129,152 acres (52,266 hectares) of sea surface. Throughout the Caribbean, Tortuguero beach is the most important nesting site for sea turtles, where egg laying and hatching of 4 species of tortoises are protected. These include the green turtle, the leatherback sea turtle, the hawksbill sea turtle and the loggerhead. Behind the beach is a large wetland area with many canals that you can visit only by boat. On the plain, there are several hills of volcanic origin, the largest is the 390 ft (119 m) high Cerro Tortuguero, from which you can see the entire area.