Ostional Wildlife Refuge Costa Rica Off the Beaten Path for Tourist

Want to sea marine turtles lay their eggs  in the sandy beach?  Then travel to Costa Rica and witness the Oliver Ridley sea turtle lay its eggs at Ostional beach on the Pacific side of Costa Rica and visit  the Ostional Wildlife Refuge  created to protect one of the world's most important nesting sites for the marine turtle , the Olive Ridley,  or Lora as it is called in Costa Rica.  This wildlife refuge  is  definitely off the beaten path for tourist but very much worth while to make the trip.   A 4x4 vehicle is recommended due to the rugged road system in the area.

Best time of the year to witness this is August through December when the rainy season is heaviest in that region.   The Arribada occurs at the start of the last quarter moon during the months of August through December.  One could notice hundreds of turtles gathering close to shore several days before they begin to rush upon the sandy shores to lay their eggs.  They come out of the water all at once,  onto the sandy beach,  sometimes running over one another.  They begin in the very late afternoon and  continue coming  all night, until day light.  "Quite a sight to see"!  There they dig into the sand and lay their eggs.

[caption id="attachment_3732" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="road map for Ostional wildlife refuge located on Pacific side Costa Rica"][/caption]

Where is Ostional Wildlife Refuge located and how do I get there?   It is located on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. See map.  It can be reached by 4x4 vehicle from Nosara or from San Juanillo.   This is the province of Guanacaste, in the northwestern pacific coast of Costa Rica.   Drive from Liberia International airport in northern Costa Rica  around 1 hour and a half.  Drive from San Jose around four hours.

However in a very very heavy rainfall, the beach area may not be accessible.

If you are planning a vacation to Costa Rica and want to see first hand many of the most beautiful beaches,  rain forests, and wildlife refuges to help better plan your vacation then go to the home page of costaricalearn.com   At top of page click on buy our  costa rica travel video. You can view  the 2 min trailer of the full length  58 minute video  "Costa Rica A Travel Adventure Spectacular" filmed by my husband Ken Creed whose travel adventure film credits include "Alaska" which was chosen by the National Geographic Society to be shown at  its travel adventure film series at Constitutional Hall in Washington DC.

"Arribada" Olive Ridley Sea Turtles Arrive to Ostional Costa Rica

[caption id="attachment_3591" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Olive Ridley Sea Turtle,  Ostional Costa Rica"][/caption]

"The Phases of the Moon, Rainfall, and Black Volcanic Sand of the Beaches at Ostional"  "Arribada" Costa Rica

Traveling to Costa Rica and want to see the nesting rituals of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle?  Then come in the months of August through December when there is more rainfall on the central Pacific Nicoya Peninsula at a place called Ostional Beach.  It is located near the town of Nosara.

A phenomenon called "arribada" occurs.  This is a Spanish word meaning arrival.  Hundreds or even thousands of Olive Ridley sea turtles arrive  upon these dark sandy beaches to nest and lay their eggs.

The largest arribada recorded was in 1995 when 500,000 turtles came onto this fifteen km stretch of beach and laid up to ten million eggs.

The Costa Rican gov has established a protected area for these sea turtles called The Ostional Wildlife Refuge.

After 45-55 days the eggs hatch and the small turtles race to the ocean.  After approx 15 years these same turtles return to this place of their birth and lay their eggs into the black volcanic sands of Ostional.

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