Lancetilla Botanical Garden

Lancetilla was founded in 1926 by the United Fruit Company as a research station to test crops for the plantations, run by the botanist Wilson Popenoe, and it grew into one of the largest tropical botanical collections in the hemisphere. It holds several hundred hectares of planted collections and a much larger area of protected forest behind. The bamboo avenue, the fruit collections from Asia and Africa, and the palm plantings are the set pieces, and the bird list on the trails is long.

What you actually see

• The bamboo avenue - a corridor of giant bamboo arching over the main walk.
• The fruit collections - Asian and African species brought in for trials, many now fruiting.
• The palm and timber plantings - long rows from the original research programme.
• The birds - a heavy list on the forest trails behind the planted area.

When to go

February to May is the driest window on this coast. Early morning is best for birds. Fruiting varies through the year and the guides know what is ripe.

Honest expectations

The planted collections are the accessible part; the forest reserve behind is much larger and mostly not visited. Labelling is uneven. Mosquitoes are persistent and the heat in the middle of the day is heavy.

Nearby

Tela is five kilometres north, and Punta Izopo and Jeannette Kawas are on either side of the bay.