Playa Ventanas Beach

Guanacaste

Playa Ventanas is just outside of the Las Baulas National Marine Park next to Playa Grande from where one can reach Ventanas beach as well as Playa Carbón. Nearby Cerro El Mono can be climbed being bordered by platforms and rocky cliffs, in which in low tide, it is possible to observe colourful small fishes.

The beach at Playa Grande (next to playa ventana) is where the leatherback turtles come. They take over the beach from November to April, dig their nests one metre deep, lay their eggs and cover the pit with sand, returning once again to the sea. After 60 to 90 days, the hatchlings emerge and immediately make their way back to the water.

This grown sea turtle can measure up to 2,5 meters and weigh up to 700 kilos. Unlike other turtles, this species has no hard shell, but rather a black, leathery skin with ridges running lengthwise. It is the epitome of a nomad and its favourite food is the poisonous jellyfish. Like all other sea turtles, the leatherback spends its life in the warm, tropical seas, coming ashore only when the females nest.