Parque Nacional Cerro Azul Meambar

Honduras

　　East of Lago de Yojoa, this well-maintained national park boasts kilometers of trails leading to waterfalls, caves and untouched cloud forest. There's also a visitors center, lodge and restaurant here. The entrance is via a turnoff from La Guama on the main CA-5 highway. Frequent pickups head to Santa Elena;...

Angeli Gardens

Honduras

　　So the food is just OK (the Honduran plates for two or more people are your best bet), but the setting here in a lush garden at the edge of a mountain makes it a romantic getaway. Beautiful jungle trails meander from the restaurant so you can hike in the...

La Casa del Jaguar

Honduras

　　This is one of Ceiba's more interesting drinking establishments, a curious, enclosed beach bar with a tree-house feel and lots of nooks, crannies and corners to get cozy in. It's famous locally for the owner's homemade liquors – he dubs it (with a wink) 'the only organic bar in Honduras.'...

Blue Marlin

Honduras

　　A highly sociable and welcoming bar-restaurant with superb sunset views from the rear deck. Draws a good mix of locals, expats and visitors. There’s popular live music on Fridays and some decent talent on karaoke Thursdays. ...

Tranquila Bar

Honduras

　　Jutting out over the bay, this bar is a key evening hangout and one of the main social hubs for backpackers on the island – more for its prime location and late opening hours than for the loud music and crowded, sweaty atmosphere. ...

Macaw Mountain Bird Park

Honduras

　　Around 2.5km outside Copán Ruinas is an extensive private reserve aimed at saving Central American macaws. There are plenty of them here, along with toucans, motmots, parrots, kingfishers and orioles, all flying around in spacious, humanely constructed cages. In the 'Encounter Center' uncaged birds fly onto your shoulders or hands...

Panacam Lodge

Honduras

　　This high-quality lodge makes an excellent base for the Parque Nacional Cerro Azul Meámbar. Comfy rooms are in the lodge, but sturdy double-occupancy cabins with terraces and calming views over the forrest are expected to be completed in 2019. The terrace of the on-site international-style restaurant is lined with hummingbird...

Cascada Zacate

Honduras

　　The park’s first trail is still a favorite, with a moderately difficult three-hour hike to Cascada Zacate. You’ll hear the falls before you see them; they're actually also known as Cascada Ruidoso, or ‘noisy falls.’ When the water is high, it thunders through a narrow chasm, throwing up a thick...

Pulhapanzak

Honduras

　　This magnificent 43m waterfall on the Río Lindo is 17km north of Lago de Yojoa (and also an easy day trip from San Pedro Sula). Surrounded by lush forest, it's a privately run beauty spot where guides will lead you along a fun, challenging path behind the waterfall (L300). There's...

Parque Nacional Montaña de Celaque

Honduras

　　Parque Nacional Celaque is one of Honduras’ most impressive national parks and boasts El Cerro de las Minas, the country’s highest peak (2849m), which is covered in lush forest. The park contains the headwaters of several rivers, a majestic waterfall visible from the entire valley, and very steep slopes, including...

Roatán Marine Park

Honduras

　　Originally set up in 2005 with the aim of protecting the reef system around the West End and Sandy Bay, the Roatán Marine Park now covers the whole island. This nonprofit organization campaigns strongly to conserve the marine environment – Roatán's reefs are under enormous pressure, both from construction and...

Museo de Escultura

Honduras

　　Copán is unique in the Maya world for its sculptures and some of the finest examples are on display at this impressive museum, which is fully signed in English. Entering the museum is an experience in itself: you go through the mouth of a serpent and through its entrails before...

Fortaleza Santa Bárbara de Trujillo

Honduras

　　High above the waves, gazing over the Caribbean toward the European motherland, this 17th-century Spanish fortress could not have a more evocative position. Though its ruined remains are not that impressive visually, it's still an inspirational spot to reflect on the forces and characters that shaped the history of the...

Copán Archaeological Site Ruins

Honduras

　　One of the most important of all Maya civilizations lived, prospered, then mysteriously crumbled around the Copán archaeological ruins, a Unesco World Heritage Site. During the Classic period (AD 250–900), the city at Copán Ruinas culturally dominated the region. The architecture is not as grand as that across the border...

Parque Internacional La Amistad

Panama

　　Parque Internacional La Amistad was established jointly by Panama and Costa Rica in 1988; two years later it was added to Unesco's World Heritage List. In Panama the park covers portions of Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro Provinces, contains seven of the 12 classified life zones, and serves as a...

Parque Nacional Volcán Barú

Panama

　　Volcán Barú is Panama's only volcano and the dominant geographical feature of western Panama. It is no longer active but has seven craters and its summit, at 3474m, is the highest point in Panama. On clear days it affords views of both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. The 143-sq-km park...

Parque Nacional Soberanía

Panama

　　This 195-sq-km national park is one of the most accessible tropical rainforests in Panama. It extends much of the way across the isthmus, from Limón on Lago Gatún to just north of Paraíso. It features hiking trails, the Río Chagres, part of Lago Gatún and a remarkable variety of wildlife....

Café Ruiz

Panama

　　The outdoor patio at Ruiz makes a good spot to sip a cappuccino and watch the mist move across the mountains. It's also the epicenter of Panama's famous coffee industry, so you can be sure that your brew has its origin in the surrounding hillsides. ...

Mercado Artesanal

Panama

　　El Valle is home to one of Panama’s largest handicrafts market. Indigenous Ngöbe-Buglé people, along with a sprinkling of Emberá and Wounaan, bring a variety of handicrafts to sell to tourists (most of whom are Panamanians from the capital). If you’re self-catering, the market also stocks a good selection of...

Parque Nacional Coiba

Panama

　　This national marine park contains Panama's largest island, the 503-sq-km Isla de Coiba, as well as astounding biodiversity; more than two dozen species of dolphin and whale have been identified, including humpback, killer and sperm whales. Several species of crocodile and turtle, and 15 species of snake roam the island...

Miraflores Visitors Center

Panama

　　The easiest way to visit the Panama Canal is to head to the Miraflores Visitors Center, just outside Panama City. This modern center features a four-floor interactive museum that looks at the canal's history, operations, expansion and ecology, an instructive 15-minute film and several viewing platforms, including the main one...

Taller Dario López

Panama

　　One of Panama's top artisans, Dario López has been making colorful masks for folkloric dancers since the 1960s. These days most of his masks and satin costumes worn by devil dancers are exported to the USA and Europe. Masks typically cost between US$20 and US$100. To visit his home workshop,...

Basílica Menor Santiago Apóstol

Panama

　　Natá's principal draw is this 16th-century cathedral, thought to be the oldest church built in the Americas still in use today. Indigenous artisans did all the woodcarving in the church, including the six side altars and the remarkable pulpit. A close look at the altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary...

Reserva Natural Isla Juan Venado

Nicaragua

　　This 20km-long, sandy barrier island (in some places only 300m wide) has swimming holes and lots of wildlife, including hundreds of migrating bird species, crocodiles, nesting turtles and mosquitoes galore. On one side of the uninhabited island you’ll find long, wild, sandy beaches facing the Pacific, on the other, red...

Reserva Natural Volcán Mombacho

Nicaragua

　　It’s been a few decades since this 1345m volcano, the defining feature of the Granada skyline, has acted up, but it is still most certainly active and sends up the periodic puff of smoke. It’s easy to get to the crown of cloud forest, steaming with fumaroles and other bubbling...

Monumento Nacional Cañon de Somoto

Nicaragua

　　The Coco (or Wangki), Central America’s longest river, runs all the way to the Caribbean, but its first impression may be its most spectacular. Gushing from underground, it has carved solid rock into this 3km-long gorge that drops 160m, and at times is just a hair under 10m wide. Protected...

Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya

Nicaragua

　　Described by the Spaniards as the gates of hell, the craters that comprise Volcán Masaya National Park are the most easily accessible active volcanoes in the country. The two volcanoes at the park, Masaya and Nindirí, together comprise five craters. Of these, Cráter Santiago is still very active and bubbling...

K'anba Caves

Guatemala

　　About a kilometer before Semuc Champey, just before the large bridge crossing the river, you'll see a turnoff to the right for these caves, which many find to be much more interesting than Grutas de Lanquín. Bring a flashlight for the two-hour tour or you'll be stumbling around by candlelight....

Templo IV

Guatemala

　　Templo IV, at 65m, is the highest building at Tikal and the second-highest pre-Columbian building known in the western hemisphere, after La Danta at El Mirador. The view east is almost as good as from a helicopter – a panorama across the jungle canopy, with (from left to right) the...

Biotopo del Quetzal

Guatemala

　　In the lush cloud forests south of Cobán is the Biotopo Mario Dary Rivera nature reserve, commonly called Biotopo del Quetzal. 　　You need a fair bit of luck to see a quetzal, as they're rare and shy, though you have the best chance of seeing them from January to June....

Cofradía Maximón

Guatemala

　　Maximón is a traditional Maya deity who resides in Santiago Atitlán. He appears as a life-sized but broken-legged effigy in a hat, dark suit and glasses, surrounded by candles, flowers and the scent of burning incense. His cofradía (brotherhood) looks after him, and receives visitors who give offerings. In the...

Cofradia San Simón

Guatemala

　　While you're in Zunil, visit the image of San Simón, the name given here to the much-venerated Mayan deity known elsewhere as Maximón. His effigy, propped up in a chair, is moved each year to a different house during the festival of San Simón, held on October 28. Ask any...

Semuc Champey

Guatemala

　　Semuc Champey is famed for its great natural limestone bridge, 300m long, on top of which is a stepped series of pools with cool, flowing river water good for swimming. Though this bit of paradise is difficult to reach, the beauty of its setting and the turquoise perfection of the...

Market

Guatemala

　　Some villagers still walk for hours carrying their wares to reach Chichi's market, one of Guatemala's largest and a highlight of many people's trips to the country. It's a rich mix of the traditional and the tourist, where local women shopping for a new huipile rub shoulders with travelers looking...

Centro Arte para la Paz

El Salvador

　　Opened in 2000 as a charitable initiative to support victims of domestic violence, the Centro Arte para la Paz now organizes a range of cultural activities from its premises in a beautiful, old Dominican convent. There's a small museum (admission US$2) and gallery, a cafe and even a self-catering dorm...

Parque Nacional El Imposible

El Salvador

　　Edging Guatemala, the mostly primary forest of Parque Nacional El Imposible shimmers with rivers and beautiful waterfalls. Hiking can get muddy and steep, but it rewards with panoramas of misty peaks and the gleaming Pacific Ocean. The best time to visit is October to February, as the rainy season hinders...

Joya de Cerén

El Salvador

　　Known as the Pompeii of America, Unesco World Heritage Site Joya de Cerén was a small Maya settlement that was buried under volcanic ash when the Laguna Caldera Volcano erupted in AD 595. Residents fleeing the eruption left behind a wealth of everyday items that provide clues about ancient planting,...

Parque Nacional Los Volcanes

El Salvador

　　Alongside volcanoes in triplicate, Parque Nacional Los Volcanes has hectares of lush forest that provide sanctuary for hundreds of migrating bird species, including emerald toucanets, woodpeckers and 17 species of hummingbird. The volcanic peaks of Izalco or Santa Ana can be tackled in a day – but not the same...

Tazumal

El Salvador

　　In the K’iche’ language Tazumal means ‘pyramid where the victims were burned.’ Archaeologists estimate that the verdant 10-sq-km Tazumal area – much of which is still buried under Chalchuapa’s housing – was first settled around 5000 BC. The latest works, inaugurated in December 2006, restored the original stone-and-mortar construction of...

Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde

Costa Rica

　　This beautiful cloud forest reserve came into being in 1972, when the Quaker community (which had already set aside a third of its property for preservation), spurred on by the threat of encroaching squatters, joined forces with environmental and wildlife organizations to purchase and protect an extra 328 hectares of...

Parque Nacional Volcán Poás

Costa Rica

　　Here's your chance to get frighteningly close to this extremely active volcano, which last erupted in 2017. At an elevation of 2708m, the mighty Poás is clasped by 7540-year-old lava and visitors can peer right into the 260m-deep crater, which has a striking turquoise lake at its center. Visits are...

Pacuare Lodge

Costa Rica

　　There are two ways into this dream of an ecolodge, both equally adventurous. Most arrive at its remote location on the Río Pacuare by raft, via a thrilling 45-minute guided paddle. Others take a 7km dirt path (accessible via the hotel's 4WD) to the river, and then climb into a...

Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Ostional

Costa Rica

　　This 85 sq km coastal refuge extends from Punta India in the north to Playa Guiones in the south, and includes the beaches of Nosara and Ostional. It was created in 1984 to protect the arribadas (mass nestings of olive ridley sea turtles) which occur from July to December. At...

Parque Nacional Los Quetzales

Costa Rica

　　Spread along both banks of the Río Savegre, Parque Nacional Los Quetzales covers 50 sq km of rainforest, cloud forest and premontane forest lying along the slopes of the Cordillera de Talamanca. At an altitude of 2000m to 3000m, Los Quetzales is all jagged peaks and glacial lakes. True to...

Parque Nacional Carara

Costa Rica

　　Carara is the famed home of one of Costa Rica’s most charismatic bird species, the scarlet macaw. While catching a glimpse of this tropical wonder is a rare proposition in most of the country, macaw sightings are virtually guaranteed at Carara. And, of course, there are more than 400 other...