Frequented by tourists from all over the world, the Parque NacionalTortuguero is another significant turtle nesting site in Costa Rica.Among the most important nesting areas in the Western Hemisphere of theendangered green turtle, the stunning Parque Nacional Tortuguero lieson Costa Rica?s beautiful Caribbean coast in the northeastern region ofthe country. Roughly 50 miles north of Puerto Limon and bordered by theAtlantic Ocean to its east, the Tortuguero National Park sits adjacentto the Refugio Barra del Colorado to its north.
Protecting over 22 miles of beach strip beginning from the mouth of theRiver Tortuguero south to Parisimina, this national park is 19,000hectares and is a key nesting area for leatherback sea turtles,hawksbill sea turtles and loggerhead sea turtles as well. Declared anational park in 1970 to protect the green turtle population of theworld from extinction, this park is also a wildlife sanctuary formonkeys, jaguars, green macaws, tapirs, and a variety of other mammals,birds and reptiles.
