Page 3 - TORTUGUERO TOURIST GUIDE

Introducción
green macaw (Ara ambigua), the great tinamou (Tinamus major), the peacock, toucans, sparrow hawks, etc.
Tourism is the town’s main livelihood, followed by fishing and agriculture. Activities for tourists take place day and night in this exciting spot: hiking, enjoying the sun and the beach, observing the biodiversity, boat or kayak rides through the Tortuguero canals, or enjoying the typical Caribbean social life, music and dance.
Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge
In the territory of the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge, visitors can find coastal areas, lagoons, rivers, swamps of herbaceous species, flooded forests and forests of small hills with heights that do not exceed 219 meters above sea level. The high precipitation almost all year round makes Barra del Colorado one of the rainiest places in the country, with an average annual relative humidity of 88%, as is typical of the lowlands of the very humid tropics.
All of these elements make Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge one of the most biologically diverse areas in the Costa Rican Caribbean region. It is home to a great diversity of species, including one third of the country’s endangered animal species. Its ecosystems generate essential services for the well-being of the communities located around the refuge, while its tourist attractions remain largely undiscovered by Costa Ricans and foreigners.
The Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge is administered from the nearby Tortuguero National Park.
Tourism
The main communities in the area surrounding Tortuguero National Park include Barra de Parismina, Barra de Tortuguero and San Francisco, which are all accessed primarily by boat or plane. The inhabitants of the area mainly make their living through tourism activities related to the Tortuguero National Park, the Barra de Colorado National Wildlife Refuge, the region’s natural navigable canals and the beaches where sea turtles nest.
The economic activities of rural villages of Barra Parismina, Fortuna and San Francisco, meanwhile, are mostly related to the
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