Las Baulas National Park of Guanacaste is located within the Bay of Tamarindo in Santa Cruz canton, in the districts of Cabo Velas and Tamarindo. This wild area was created in order to provide protection to leatherback turtle populations that come to nest in Playa Grande, Ventanas and Langosta beaches. This is also a site of global importance for Tamarindo estuary and its mangrove forest, as well as other estuaries of smaller size but of equal beauty, such as the San Francisco and Ventanas estuaries.