Río Dulce and Lívingston

The Río Dulce leaves Lake Izabal through a gorge where limestone walls rise around a hundred metres, draped in vegetation with herons on the water and pelicans working the current, and runs down to the Caribbean at Lívingston. That town has no road: everyone arrives by boat, and the population is largely Garífuna, descendants of Carib, Arawak and West African people whose language, drumming and cooking are unlike anything else in Guatemala and carry UNESCO intangible heritage recognition. Along the river are hot springs where sulphurous water runs into the cold river, the Spanish fort of Castillo de San Felipe at the lake mouth, built against pirates, and a chain of small lodges reachable only from the water.

The landscape

• The gorge boat trip - limestone walls and birdlife between Río Dulce and Lívingston.
• Lívingston - a Garífuna town with no road access, its own language and drumming.
• Castillo de San Felipe - the Spanish anti-pirate fort at the lake mouth.
• Finca El Paraíso hot springs - a hot waterfall falling into a cold river pool.

When to go

November to April is drier. Boats between Río Dulce and Lívingston run to a schedule that thins outside peak season. The Garífuna Settlement Day celebrations in late November are the cultural high point of the year.

Good to know

Lívingston divides visitors: some find it a fascinating cultural pocket, others find it run-down and pushy with touts at the dock. Boat schedules are limited and missing the last one means staying. The river is beautiful but the town of Río Dulce itself is a noisy highway junction under a bridge. Sandflies on the beaches are ferocious.

Nearby

Quiriguá lies southwest; Belize is a boat ride up the coast.