Itinerary

    1    Day One – Fly to Brus Laguna / Yamari Savannah Cabanas / Crocodile Spotting Tour
    Your adventure begins with a short one-hour plane ride from La Ceiba directly into the impressive Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve, the largest tract of rainforest north of the Amazon. The Reserve is a massive, road less natural area connected by waterways and traveled by locals and visitors alike in motorized dugout canoes or “pipantes”. In addition to some of Central America’s richest biodiversity, La Moskitia is also home to four distinct indigenous groups, each with their own unique culture, language, and traditions.

In Brus Laguna you will board a pipante for a 45-minute boat ride that will take you through a series of small creeks and lagoons, and into the heart of the Great Pine Savannah. The expansive savannah ecosystem is a beautiful and mesmerizing landscape, and it is here that you will spend your first night in La Moskitia. The Yamari Savannah Cabañas sit on the shore of a small translucent river and offer great swimming holes, cool breezes, and some of the best bird watching in the region.

Following a relaxing afternoon and a hearty dinner, you will get back in your pipante after dark to glide through some of the larger canals in search of caiman and crocodiles, a sky full of stars looming overhead. Visiting their dens along the river bank and using spotting lights, you will look for the red reflection of their eyes as they quietly rise to the water’s surface.
           

    2    Day two - Raista Ecolodge / Rainforest Hike & Tubing    

From Brus Laguna you travel by boat to your next destination along La Ruta Moskitia, the welcoming community of Raista. In Raista, a rainforest adventure like no other awaits! Begin the afternoon with a two-hour rainforest hike during which you will look for two resident howler monkey troops who call the forest home. Then, plunge into the cool waters of Paru Creek for an inner tube float under the forest canopy (or in a pipante if you prefer), with the chatter of parrots and the distant rumblings of howler monkeys overhead.

Spend the evening in Raista at the family-owned ecolodge of the Bodden family – one of the first local families to become involved with ecotourism in the Reserve – where the matriarch of the family, Doña Elma, will fix you the best home-cooked meal in the entire Caribbean.
           

    3    Day three - Boar Ride to Las Marias / Traditional Miskito Home visit
   
Continuing on from Raista, you will travel up the mighty Río Plátano by pipante to the community of Las Marias. Considered the main ecotourism destination in La Moskitia, Las Marias has a unique cultural heritage in that it is the home to the Reserve’s smallest ethic group, the Pech Indians. A one-time nomadic tribe, the Pech have settled into a more permanent existence in Las Marias. While traveling upriver, expect to see a variety of wildlife including parrots, toucans, river turtles, and even an occasional crocodile.

En route to Las Marias you will stop at the home of a local Miskito family who have a small farm along the banks of the Rio Plátano. Stretch your legs, take a swim, and have lunch as you learn about some of the traditional agricultural techniques used by indigenous communities to raise casaba, beans, corn, and a variety of fruit.
           

    4    Day Four - Las Marias / River trip to Petroglyphs

Day four includes a truly unique experience.  First, you will climb into a small “cayuco” canoe to be paddled and poled further upstream from Las Marias by local nature guides.  Each minute takes you deeper and deeper into the heart of La Moskitia, and on either side of you primary rainforest rises up from the river valley.  Following a short hike along a well-maintained jungle trail, the guides will bring you to the Walpaulban Sirpi petroglyph site, located directly on the Rio Plátano.  The petroglyph is known to date back approximately 1000 years, although its origin remains a mystery.  Take a swim in the cool waters of the Rio Plátano, and warm up under the sun as you ponder the mystery of the ancient rock art.
           

    5    Days five & Six - Las Marias / Pico Baltimore Jungle Trek
   
Ready to really explore the largest piece of rainforest in Central America? Days five and six include an invigorating overnight trek into the Pico Baltimore mountain range. The hike passes through primary and secondary rainforest, and is a fantastic opportunity to see wildlife and spectacular views of Ibans Lagoon & the Caribbean Ocean. During the trek a local nature guide will lead you through the towering rainforest and show you traditional and medicinal uses of plants, point out toucans, hummingbirds, and mammals, orchids and giant hardwoods, and share with you stories of growing up in this amazing natural area. Spend the night in a small palm-thatched cabana built by the community deep in the heart of the rainforest of La Moskitia.
           

    6    Day Seven – Down the Rio Plátano / Belen Beach Cabanas / Miskito Cultural Evening
           
    Day seven takes you back down the Río Plátano to the Miskito community of Belen and the Pawanka Beach Cabanas.  One of most beautiful lodging options in La Moskitia, three palm-thatched cabanas sit just ten meters from the Caribbean, cooled by the gentle ocean breezes.  Belen also has a lovely dining area, which is located on the edge of a small fresh water lagoon and serves as a great spot for early evening bird watching.

Following a walking tour of the friendly Miskito communities that are located along the coast, you will return to the cabanas along an endless beach as the sun sets over the Caribbean.  Back in Belen the community will build a large beach bonfire for dinner.  While you eat, a local women’s group will present a cultural evening of traditional Miskito songs and dancing, passed down from generation to generation.
           

    7    DayEight – Fly Out of Reserve
   
    An early morning boat ride from Belen will take you back to the community of Brus Laguna, where your flight to La Ceiba will depart late morning, wrapping up your adventure in La Moskitia!

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