EXT Client Experiences

Tortuguero National Park

By EXT Clients ⋅ October 25, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

If you love wildlife, you will love visiting Tortuguero National Park. This park is located on the Atlantic side of the country. In order to reach it, you must take a boat through various canals to arrive to the town of Tortuguero. Once you are there, it is possible to arrange a visit through the park, by boat.

Personally, my tour was arranged through my hotel which was one of the bonuses of staying at a nice hotel versus staying in a smaller hotel or hostel in the city. I visited two different canals at two different times. Each tour lasted approximately 3 hours and the price of the tour was included with the room.

The first tour departed at 6am. Yes, it was very early but it was so worth it! I have never seen so much wildlife in my entire life. It was amazing to be able to witness the jungle waking up before my eyes. A few highlights of the tour were seeing a hummingbird come out of its nest for the first time, a sea otter grooming himself, three types of monkeys (white faced, holler and spider), caymans, sea otters mating, river turtles and an incredible number of birds including hummingbirds, toucans, parrots, pelicans, etc. Also, we saw several different types of lizards and insects. The grossest insect was by far a huge purple grasshopper which must have measured approximately 5 inches.

The second tour was not as exciting because it was later on in the day at around 2pm. We still managed to see quite a few birds, insects and monkeys. The animal that amazed me the most on this tour was a cayman. Our tour guide spotted a cayman laying in the grass and when we got closer, we were able to see her very small baby crawling beside her. It was beautiful to see that interaction.

On the canal, all your senses are fully activated! It is so difficult to try and integrate all of this sensory overload. Not only are your eyes trying to take it all in but you hear all the insects and fauna calling, you smell the lush forest and you feel your lungs being filled with rich fresh air.

It is important to note however that you must pay a 10$ entrance fee to the park for every day you are there. So, I would recommend trying to take as much in as possible in one day.

All in all, if you are a wildlife lover, Tortuguero National Park is a must-see!!!

This Blog Post was generously submitted by Stefanie Brunelle.