Las Baulas Marine Park

Las Baulas National Marine Park is located just north of Tamarindo Beach. It was created by presidenctial decree in 1990 and then formalized in 1995. The park measures 935 terrestrial acres and 54,000 marine acres and encompasses the Tamarindo statuary, the Matapalo mangroves, the San Fransisco statuary, Playa Grande, Playa Ventana, Playa Carbon, Playa Langosta, a significant area of 12 miles offshore, and the Morro and Hermosa hills. This area alone contains all six mangrove types native to Pacific, including black mangrove.

Nesting season for the Lora and Baula sea turtles on Playa Grande is generally from October to February. During this special time of year it is important to know that the beach is restricted after dusk and you can only be at the beach with a turtle protecting guide.

The turtles lay their eggs in the sand and then within two to three  months the turtles are born. Directly after birth the baby turtles scurry instinctively towards the ocean as quickly as they can. If you have ever been lucky enough to witness a hatching it is astounding at how natural the turtles find the ocean without any guidance or assistance. Unfortunatly, many baby turtles are eaten by land predators such as birds, raccoons, and crabs eat the baby turtles before they ever make it to the waves.

Sadly, each year the number of sea turtles that return to lay their eggs has been decreasing at an alarming rate.  This decrease is attributed to predators, over fishing, careless commercial net fishing, egg poaching, more development in the area, and pollution, all of which are rapidly threatening the existence of the sea turtles and pushing them into extinction. The stealing of the eggs is done mainly by locals who sell them on the black market. Turtle eggs are a delicacy that are said to have similar effects as Viagra so they are heavily trafficked.

Efforts are being made to protect the species and this is a national park where you can volunteer to protect, relocate, care for, and release the baby sea turtles. EARTHWATCH is a major group fighting to protect the turtles in the area; you can contact them for volunteer opportunities if you are interested.

If you have had enough turtles Baula National Marine Park has several other interesting attractions including:

· Surfing: Playa Grande actually has the most amount of surfable wave throughout the year, great offshore winds, ideal barrels, and is an excellent place to learn, practice, or show off your moves.

· Boat tour on the estuary: where you can see crocodiles, monkeys, and several species of birds.

· Fishing: the locals can teach you to use hand lines at the end of Playa Grande where the fish seem to bite the most.

· Bird watching: this area is a haven for birds and you will see them hanging around almost everywhere you go in the area.

There are no actual accommodations within the national park, but there are several B&B style hotels, cabañas, and luxury homes to rent in the area.

How to get there:

There are two ways to arrive at Playa Grande:

1)      Santa Cruz-Belén-Matapalo-continue stratight past the left trun for Tamarindo-Huacas- Make a left as you pass the soccer field that is on the right. Follow the road until you reach the beach communities of Playa Grande and Ventana. 52 km or

2)      Liberia-Guardia-Filadelfia-Matapalo- continue stratight past the left trun for Tamarindo - Huacas- Make a left as you pass the soccer field that is on the right. Follow the road until you reach the beach communities of Playa Grande and Ventana. 70 km.