Top Ten Nicaragua Adventures

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Wildflowers Photo Gallery

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This southern Pacific beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Nicaragua, a gorgeous white sandy crescent at the edge of a broad strip of tropical dry forest. The entire reserve is 800 hectares, where each year between July and January, thousands of paslama turtles beach themselves to nest and lay eggs. It's one of just a handful of beaches in the world that witness such a spectacle. Also in La Flor are many garrobo negro, iguana verde, lagartijas, monkeys, coyotes, raccoons, and skunks, some of which prey on the turtle eggs. The skies at La Flor are full of bird species that make their homes in the relatively intact dry forest: urracas, gavilanes caracoleros, chocoyos, querques, garzas, and sonchiches.

One of the two Pacific turtle nesting beaches in Nicaragua. The park is being managed by Fundacion Cocibolca, an NGO that is attempting to involve the local community in decision-making processes. There is a small fee to enter, plenty of beach on which to camp, park guards to protect the eggs, and adequate transport from San Juan del Sur (about 45 minutes away).

Text © 2003 by Joshua Berman and Randy Wood. Used by permission of Moon Handbooks. All rights reserved. Book is available through local bookstores and online booksellers.