La Tigra National Park

La Tigra was the first national park declared in Honduras and it sits close enough to the capital that you can be in cloud forest an hour after leaving the city. The forest catches moisture off the ridge and feeds the streams that supply a large share of Tegucigalpa's water, which is the practical argument that has kept it standing. Trails run through mossy oak and pine forest hung with bromeliads and orchids, and the El Rosario entrance still has the remains of the American-run mining settlement that worked here a century ago.

What you actually see

• The cloud forest - moss-hung oak and pine with bromeliads and orchids along the trails.
• The trail network - marked routes of two to six hours between the two entrances.
• The El Rosario ruins - the old mining camp buildings and workings at the western gate.
• The birds - quetzals, trogons and emerald toucanets in the upper forest.

When to go

November to April is the drier season and the best for the trails. The forest is wet in any month, which is the point of it. Early morning is when the birds move and before cloud closes the ridge.

Honest expectations

It rains here when it is dry everywhere else, and the trails are muddy year-round. Quetzals are present but sighting them takes luck and an early start. Both entrances are reached on rough roads and public transport is limited.

Nearby

Tegucigalpa is an hour south, and Valle de Angeles and Santa Lucia are on the same side of the city.