Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Costa Rica, known for its impressive biodiversity and beautiful beaches. Located in the province of Puntarenas, near the town of Quepos, this park offers a unique combination of rainforest, white sand beaches and wildlife.

Biodiversity and Wildlife
The park is home to a great variety of flora and fauna. Animals that can be found here include white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, sloths, iguanas, coatis, toucans and many species of birds. In addition, the park is known for its abundance of marine species in its crystal clear waters.

Beaches and Activities
Manuel Antonio National Park has some of the most beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, such as Playa Espadilla, Playa Manuel Antonio and Playa Gemelas. Visitors can enjoy activities such as hiking, swimming, snorkeling, and wildlife watching. Well-marked trails allow visitors to explore the park and enjoy panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and rainforest.

Conservation and Sustainability
The park has implemented several conservation initiatives to protect its rich biodiversity. Conservation efforts include reforestation, species monitoring, and environmental education for visitors and the local community.

The olive ridley sea turtle is the smallest of the sea turtles and inhabits tropical waters of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In Costa Rica, it is found on five beaches in the central Pacific, where it nests solitarily, and in Guanacaste, on beaches such as Ostional and Nancite, where the phenomenon of “arribadas” occurs with thousands of turtles nesting at the same time. Their nesting period in the central Pacific is concentrated between July and November.

Females deposit more than 100 eggs in nests dug with their hind flippers. During this process, they secrete tears to protect their eyes from the sand. The eggs take 48 to 50 days to hatch, after which the hatchlings emerge and head out to sea to face numerous predators. Of every thousand hatchlings, only one reaches adulthood.

The olive ridley sea turtle, although less endangered than other species, faces risks such as bycatch, illegal hunting of adults, and the egg trade, despite laws prohibiting these practices. It is also endangered by pollution and urban development in its nesting areas.

The protection of this species requires the collaboration of all, avoiding the plundering of nests, protecting nesting sites and reducing pollution on the beaches. As part of Costa Rica's biodiversity, its conservation is a shared responsibility.

The Quepo Indians were a subgroup of the Boruca and Chibcha-speaking people who migrated into northern Colombia at the end of the first millennium. The great conquistador Juan Vázquez de Coronado described the Quepo as “the most beautiful people”. In addition to being a wonderful tribe, they were also known as fierce warriors. It has been documented that the Quepo “possessed gold in great quantities which they obtained from the rivers and from the spoils of the Caribbean tribes against whom they waged relentless wars”.

During the rainy months of July through October, a sizable group of Quepo and a shaman, probably female, occupied the coastal hills of Manuel Antonio near Punta Quepos. The shaman lived on Magote Island at the mouth of the Naranjo River. A deep cave on the island was used for ceremonies to ensure abundant fish in the river, turtle spawning on the beaches and good harvests of pearls and rare mollusks from which they made a beautiful purple ink.

The earliest recorded history of European presence in Manuel Antonio occurred about five years after the Spanish explorer Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean. The explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, who would later be credited with discovering Florida in his quest for the fountain of youth, finally accomplished the task of finding the western shores of Costa Rica (and later the coast of Manuel Antonio) in the year 1519. It was the rainy season, and a fearsome number of warriors massed on the beach and boldly invited Señor and his crew ashore with insults, gestures and blows of sticks. Ponce de Leon declined, and became the first of many to call the Quepo Indians “Brave Indians”. Making conservative estimates, it is thought that at the time there were more than a thousand natives, possibly about fifteen thousand, so Ponce de Leon's caution was prudent. It has been an ancient legend that there is a treasure hidden somewhere in the territories that the Quepo tribe once occupied.

The famous Englishman John Clipperton who began his long and illustrious career in the South Seas in the late 1600's believed that over 700 tons of gold, silver, pearls, emeralds and other jewels were hidden somewhere near the San Bernardino de Quepo Mission. Mission San Bernardino de Quepo was permanently closed in 1746 after a rebellion that ended the southern highland missions. At that time there were only a few Quepo; most had died as a result of diseases brought by Europeans, warfare with other indigenous groups and slavery. Soon after 227 years of Spanish rule, the Quepo tribe was extinct.

Since the rediscovery of the mission site in 1974, more than half of the ruins have been destroyed due to looting, agriculture and new colonization. The location of the multi-billion dollar treasure still remains a mystery.