If Venice, Italy were in a tropical rainforest it still wouldn’t be as impressive as Tortuguero. The area was founded as a national park more than a quarter a century ago, and today is home to 11 different habitats for hundreds of species of birds, and other wildlife including monkey, crocodiles, manatees and lizards.

In pre-Columbian times this area was part of the Mayan civilization, and Spanish explorers first reached land here in 1502, followed by outright conquest about a quarter century later.

The land was part of New Spain, until 1821 when Costa Rica achieved its independence, but two years later it became part of the Mexican Empire. It finally became a republic in 1848, and has been one of the most stable democratic governments in Central America.

Today there are roads in Tortuguero, and this coastal region is only accessible by man-made channels and a system of natural rivers. Much of the work in creating was done by well-renowned naturalist Archie Carr, and today Tortuguero is an unspoiled paradise. Home to thousands of animals, each year tens of thousands of human tourists can take in this most unique of natural parks and see animals that live no place else on Earth.