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Las Baulas Marine National Park Review

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Las Baulas Marine National Park

Address: North of Tamarindo, across an estuary, Playa Grande
Phone: 653-0470

Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas

Category: Nature Preserves
Location: Nicoya Coast

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Fodor's Review:

Both Las Baulas Marine National Park (Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas), which protects the long Playa Grande, and the Tamarindo Wildlife Refuge, a mangrove estuary with some excellent bird-watching, have been under some developmental pressure of late. Playa Grande hosts the world's largest visitation of nesting giant leatherback turtles. From October 1 to February 15, during the peak nesting season, the beach is strictly off limits from 6 PM to 5 AM. You can only visit as part of a guided tour, waiting your turn at the park entrance, beside Hotel Las Tortugas, until spotters find a nesting turtle. Then you silently sprint down the beach in darkness to witness the remarkable sight of a 500-pound creature digging a hole in the sand large enough to deposit up to 100 golfball-size eggs. Just as impressive is the sight of hundreds of hatchlings scrambling toward open water in the early morning about 60 days afterward. The best way to go is with a turtle-watching tour run by ACOTAM, a Tamarindo-based association of local guides. Environmental activist Louis Wilson, also the owner of the Hotel Las Tortugas, struggled for a decade to protect this area. An evening spent discussing ecotourism and ecopolitics with him is a real education.

Cost: $16, includes guided tour (Spanish only)
Open: Oct. 15-Feb. 15 by reservation only after 6 PM

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