Tortuguero, Costa Rica, which can be translated as Land of Turtles, is a village on the Northern Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 coast of Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

 in the Limón Province

Limón Province

Limón is one of seven provinces in Costa Rica. The majority of its territory is situated in the country's Caribbean lowlands, though the southwestern portion houses part of an extensive mountain range known as the Cordillera de Talamanca...

. It gave its name to the neighboring Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park

Tortuguero National Park is a National Park within the Tortuguero Conservation Area. The reserve is also included in the Humedal Caribe Noreste, a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. The park is located in the Limón Province of northeastern Costa Rica...

.

The beach

Beach

A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...

es around Tortuguero are key nest

Nest

A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...

ing sites for many of the world's most endangered species of sea turtle

Sea turtle

Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...

. Accordingly, there are two biological stations, the Cano Palma Biological Research Station and the John H. Phipps Biological Field Station

Dr. Archie Carr Wildlife Refuge

Dr. Archie Carr Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge located within the Tortuguero Conservation Area, in the Limón Province of northeastern Costa Rica. The refuge is located north of the village of Tortuguero, between the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge and the Tortuguero National Park. It is...

, which operate from the area immediately around the village, and which concentrate on research and conservation of the local ecology, particularly the turtles.

The small village, which can be reached only by boat

Boat

A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...

 or airplane, is sustained in large part by eco-tourism. (See the Official Community Website at: tortuguerovillage.com for more information

External links

• Caribbean Conservation Corporation who operate the John H. Phipps Biological Field Station
• Canadian Organization for Tropical Education and Rainforest Conservation who operate the Cano Palma Biological Research Station
• Local villagers maintained website with details of travel and lodging
• Community Run Website to provide information for all things local about Tortuguero, Costa Rica