Size:
552 hectares of land
22,000 hectares of sea
Distance from San José: 321 kilometers via Liberia
Dry season: January through March

These three beaches form this park: Grande Beach, Ventana Beach and Langosta Beach.

Grande Beach, which is part of Tamarindo Refuge, is one of the most important nesting sites in the world for the leatherback turtle. This species, which is the largest of all sea turtles, can grow to over 2 meters long and weight up to 700 kg. It is black with very long fins and it is the only turtle which has a very thick skin cover, which is like leather, instead of a true shell. It is easy to recognize the leatherback not only because of its huge size, but also because it has seven ridges or elongated bumps on its back.

The total number of turtles that nest at Grande Beach is not known, but it is speculated that as many as 200 may lay their eggs in one night. The part of the beach set aside as a refuge extends 3,6 km. Long and corresponds to the main sector where the turtles arrive every year to dig their nests in the sand. This takes place at night from the month of November to April. Besides the leatherback turtle, sometimes the olive ridley turtle also nest in Grande Beach.

The rest of the refuge, which covers almost 400 HA., is made up of the Tamarindo mangrove swamp. The five species of mangrove that are known on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica flourish here. They are the black mangrove, white mangrove, red mangrove, tea mangrove and buttonwood mangrove. The red mangrove is the most abundant of all.

Wildlife in the mangrove swamps is fairly varied and plentiful, especially with regard to birds. 57 species of bird have been sighted, the most commonly seen being the great egret, cattle egret, white ibis, muscovy duck, and great blue heron.

Grande Beach as its name indicates, is very large. At low tide the distance between the sea and front line of plant growth is 70 meters. It is made up of firm sand which makes it easy for walking, and it is the perfect place to see animals and plants that are typical of tropical beaches. Other animals that live in the sand are beach ghost crabs, mouthless crab and hermit crab.


The park is located on the northern Nicoya peninsula, near the town of Salinas, there is no camping allowed in the park. There are several hotels in the town of Tamarindo, with more to come. Boats into the mangrove swamp can be arranged.

Birds frequently seen in the park: sandpipers, brown pelican, frigatebird, laughing gull, Franklin's gull, roseate spoonbill.

Turtles that nest here: Leatherback Turtle, Olive-ridley turtles, Pacific green turtles, and Hawksbill turtles.

Animals found in the park: howler monkey, raccoon, white-nosed coati, caiman, ctenosaur, roosterfish, mullet, crevalle jack, snapper, Caymans and crocodiles, snook and stingray.