Parque Nacional Tortuguero

Tortuguero is a national park in northeastern Costa Rica known for its biodiversity, canals, and its importance as a nesting site for sea turtles, especially green turtles. The park is characterized by lush tropical rainforests, wildlife, and a network of waterways.

Turtle Bogue, or Boca Tortuga as Tortuguero was previously known, was settled in the early twentieth century, around the 1920s, by Afro-Caribbean families from Limon and Parismina, along with some migrants who came from Barra del Colorado and Nicaragua.

All of them were attracted by the economic benefits generated during the worldwide golden age of the exploitation of precious woods. Tortuguero and its vast forests offered plenty of high-quality timber, such as Almond (Almendro) or Cativo, and were relatively easy to transport through the canal network.

In the 1950s, an event occurred that changed the history of Turtle Bogue. A zoologist at the University of Florida, Dr. Archie Carr, was interested in the behavior of sea turtles, so he searched the Caribbean and Central American countries for the ideal site for his studies.

This search led him to Tortuguero, attracted by rumors of a beach filled with green turtles and completely wild conditions, leading to the founding of the CCC (Caribbean Conservation Corporation). His studies began to reveal the ecological importance of the entire plain of Tortuguero.

The growing ecological information aligned with the conservationist trend of the country in the 1970s, leading to the declaration of Tortuguero National Park on September 24, 1970.

The designation as a National Park and the fame of sea turtles caused an influx of travelers to the area in the early to mid-1980s. At that time, adventurers sought to explore new horizons.

Tortuguero National Park (TNP) is located northeast of Costa Rican territory and is one of the main tourist icons of Costa Rica, internationally recognized for protecting the most important green turtle nesting beach in the Western Hemisphere.

In TNP, humid tropical forests and very humid tropical forests predominate. The annual average precipitation reaches 19.6 feet (6,000 mm). The months with the highest rainfall are July and December, while the least rainy months are March, April, and October. The annual average temperature ranges between 77 Fahrenheit (25 °C) and 86 Fahrenheit (30 °C). Heat, humidity, and rain are constant companions on the journey.