In the Tortuguero Plains, this refuge is in the extreme northeast corner of the country, ordering Nicaragua along the San Juan river: The administration building is 99 km from Moin along the Tortuguero Cannal system and 99 km from San José in a stright line. It is one of the larguest wild areas in the country and is also the rainiest, receiving 6000 mm annually.

This has given rise to many bogs, lakes and waterways with different floristic compositions. There is an abundant but little studied fauna; there have been a number of species in danger of extinction identified, such as the manatee. One part of the refuge can be visited by means of the natural system of channels, rivers and ponds that cross it.