Tortuguero, is one of the leading ecotourism destinations in Costa Rica. With its long canals, lush rain forest and vast beaches, Tortuguero appropriately earns the nickname of the “Amazon of Costa Rica.”

Frequented by tourists from all over the world, the Tortuguero National Park is one of the most important turtle nesting sites in Costa Rica.

This national park has 19,000 hectares and is a key nesting area for the leatherback, hawksbill and loggerhead sea turtles as well.

Declared a national park in 1970 to protect the green turtle population of the world from extinction, this park is also a wildlife sanctuary for monkeys, jaguars, green macaws, tapirs, and a variety of other mammals, 300 different species of birds as well as around 170 species of reptiles and amphibians.

A great place for bird watching, both migratory and native birds, including herons, egrets, trogons, parrots, toucans, jacanas, kingfishers, anhingas, kites and hawks.
Some other common animals here include; caimans, crocodiles, sloths, iguanas, frogs, bats, basilisk lizards, otters, peccaries and ocelots. A variety of crustaceans are also found here.

The shy West Indian Manatee is another endangered animal found in the park. Researchers believe that only 100 manatees now inhabit the remote lagoons within Tortuguero National Park.

Though it is quite an adventure to get to this remote area of Costa Rica, the whole experience of getting there either by boat or plane is already part of the experience. Being still out of the standard route, the area has not turned into a touristy resort which makes it the perfect place for those who want to get themselves deep into the Costa Rican jungle, kayak through the canals, watch turtles hatch on the beach and trek through the forest.