We begin in Toledo, Belize which is most southern and remote district. We have a mix of activities from kayaking, exploring caves, Lubaantun Archeology Site, and snorkeling on the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. We then transfer by boat to Livingston, Guatemala and spend the first night in the remote Q’eqchi’ Maya village of Plan Grande Quehueche. From here we return to Livingston which is our base for exploring the incredible natural areas of the Rio Dulce. We then depart for Honduras with a stop at the Ancient Maya site of Quirigua on our way to Copan. We then spend a day at Copan and transfer to San Pedro Sula for flights home. This is one of our most diverse itineraries and pioneering in the tri-national area of the Port of Honduras area.

Itinerary

This trip begins with a rendezvous at the airport in Punta Gorda, Belize, on Day 1.

DAY 1 ~ Arrive in Belize

Arrive in Punta Gorda, Belize, via Belize City. A representative will meet you outside the customs and immigration area at the airport and connect you to your domestic flight from Belize City to Punta Gorda. You will be met by your Mountain Travel Sobek tour leader at the Punta Gorda airport and then we transfer to The Lodge at Big Falls, located close to the Maya village of Big Falls about 30 minutes from Punta Gorda. The lodge is situated on the banks of the Río Grande and has almost a mile of river frontage. The lodge’s gardens are beautifully landscaped and the varied riverine habitat provides an excellent birding environment. Nesting herons, toucans, woodpeckers, and birds of prey all nest on the property and can be observed with the lodge’s powerful spotting scopes. The cabanas are large, comfortable, and well-ventilated with large glass patio doors opening onto hardwood decks. The bathrooms have large walk-in hot and cold water showers and the rooms are thoughtfully designed with queen-size beds, bedside reading lamps, ample luggage storage space, and ceiling fans. The main lodge has a beautiful bar made from local stone, large outside decking, airy dining room, gift shop, internet access area, and a well stocked library. The lodge has a number of canoes and kayaks for exploring the river, including glass bottom kayaks. The river in the dry season is a deep green color and swimming in the river is excellent from the canoe dock. The lodge is located close to the Maya village of San Pedro the fascinating Maya ruins of Lubaantun.
D…The Lodge at Big Falls

DAY 2 ~ Lubaantun

After early morning breakfast at the lodge, we depart to the Maya site of Lubaantun, made famous by the discovery of the mysterious “crystal skull” in 1926. (The carving of a human skull was cut from an eight-inch cube of rock crystal; its origins are still unknown.) This small but fascinating Maya site has a wonderful tranquil feel and is set among brightly colored heliconias, towering ceiba trees, and shady cahune palms. It dates from A.D. 700-900 and has eleven structures (noted for their round corners), five main plazas, and three ball courts. After lunch we will drive through Mayan villages and enjoy a refreshing swim at beautiful waterfalls surrounded by jungle at Rio Blanco National Park. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
B,L,D…The Lodge at Big Falls

DAY 3 ~ Río Grande float trip & cave visit

Today we will take a river float trip down the Río Grande, accompanied by local Maya guides. We will start the beautiful jungle float early in the morning and emerge at The Lodge at Big Falls for a late lunch. We will be able to swim along the route and see a wide variety of bird life, including keel-billed toucan, collared aracari, and a variety of parrot species. After lunch we will explore Blue Creek Cave, which has an underground river emerging from the Maya Mountains. We will hike through rainforest along Blue Creek until we reach the cavernous mouth of the river. With waterproof headlamps and lifevests, we swim upstream through large cavernous rooms until we reach an underground waterfall with light streaming in from a break in the cave ceiling. An amazing experience. Return to The Lodge at Big Falls for dinner and overnight.
B,L,D…The Lodge at Big Falls

DAY 4 ~ Snake Cay & the Belize Barrier Reef, Plan Grande Quehueche

Early morning start for the short drive to Punta Gorda, where we will board boats for the 45-minute transfer out to Snake Cay for some outstanding snorkeling. After exploring the reef we will head south for Guatemala. After going through customs in Livingston, we will travel up a small creek and begin our 1 hour easy hike through the rainforest to the Q’eqchi’ Maya community of Plan Grande Quehueche. We will check into the nice ecolodge run by the community. There are some caves nearby stilled used in ceremonies that can be explored with local guides. There is also an optional community tour where you can see first-hand how present-day Maya live. We will have dinner in a community household and then observe a welcoming ceremony which has roots going back 2000 years. After all this we will have a community dance.
B,L,D...Aktenamit, Plan Grande Queheuche Ecolodge

DAY 5 ~ Livingston

We will have relaxing morning for bird watching, swimming in a nearby rainforest stream, and just getting to know our Q’eqchi’ hosts. We will depart about mid-morning for the one hour hike back to our boat and quick transfer to Livingston. We will check into the luxurious Villa Caribe Hotel and have an afternoon open to relax at the pool or wander through the shops of Livingston. We will have an early dinner and then meet our local Garifuna hosts and have a drumming/singing/dance session in the evening. The Garifuna a fusion culture of escaped African slaves and Carib Indians who have settled along the coasts of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. The drumming ritual, recounts their turbulent history full of West African and South American influences. Not only is this fascinating to observe, it’s lots of fun!
B,L,D… Villa Caribe, Livingston

DAY 6 ~ Rio Dulce

After breakfast we depart by boat for a full day exploring the Rio Dulce area. This includes two national parks and a spectacular gorge. There are a number of water trails and the majority of exploration will be by boat in hopes of seeing manatees and freshwater dolphins. There are some trails and we will have the opportunity to explore on foot as well. With luck we will see monkeys, iguanas, and many species of tropical birds as well as manatees and freshwater dolphins.
B,L,D…Villa Caribe, Livingston

DAY 7 ~ Quirigua - Copan

We transfer to Puerto Barrios (about 45 minutes by boat) and travel inland to the Ancient Maya site of Quirigua. An important Classic Maya site and subservient to Copan for much of its’ history, Quirigua controlled the jade trade of the Ancient Maya. There are some enormous stellae extremely well preserved at the site. We will have lunch at the site before our 3 hour drive to Copan Ruinas, Honduras.
B,L,D…Don Udo’s, Copan Ruinas, Honduras

DAY 8 ~ Copan

After breakfast we will spend a half day visiting the ancient Maya site of Copán. For its relative small size (many other sites in the Maya lowlands are physically larger), the amount of inscribed materials at Copán are truly astounding, suggesting that in some way the elite culture of this ancient kingdom was particularly interested in literate culture and whatever that entailed. It comes as little surprise, therefore, that Copán has long been a focus of intensive epigraphic investigation. The large number of texts at Copán, nearly all on large stone stelae or altars, have given scholars a large amount of texts to be compared and studied, and these texts have played a significant role in the overall effort to break the Maya code. Recently, this great progress in deciphering Copán’s inscriptions has not only revealed surprising facts about the local royal history, featuring the rituals and reigns of individual kings over a four-hundred-year period, but it has also opened several doors on Maya culture as a whole. After lunch, and road conditions permitting, we will visit Malcote Private Reserve for a beautiful hike in the highlands surrounding the Copán Valley. We will hike through a shade coffee plantation on our way to lush highland forests. On our way down we will stop by a coffee processing facility and learn how the red-berry ends up as our favorite morning beverage. (January departure will see the facility in full processing mode.) The lush highlands of Copán boast some of the most impressive birding opportunities in Central America. Species include green parakeet, orange-fronted parakeet, white-fronted parrot, cinnamon hummingbird, turquoise-browed Motmot, barred antshrike, rose-throated Becard, and streak-backed oriole.
B,L,D…Don Udo’s Hotel, Copán

DAY 9 ~ Fly home

Transfer to the airport at San Pedro Sula and depart on homeward-bound flights (your flight should be scheduled for after 11:00 a.m.).
B…

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