Pico Bonito National Park

Pico Bonito National Park, rising abruptly behind the north-coast city of La Ceiba, is one of Honduras's most spectacular protected areas, a vast, steep wilderness of dense tropical rainforest and cloud forest cloaking rugged mountains up to 2,400 metres. Barely explored at its heart, it shelters jaguars, howler monkeys, toucans and a spectacular wealth of birds and butterflies. Visitors come to hike its jungle trails to waterfalls and natural pools, to birdwatch, and to raft the white water of the Cangrejal River that rushes along its edge.

What you actually see

• The rainforest trails - the jungle hikes to waterfalls and pools.
• The wildlife and birds - the monkeys, toucans and butterflies.
• The Cangrejal River - the white-water rafting along the park edge.
• The lodges - the eco-lodges on the forested slopes.

When to go

November to April, the drier season, for the best hiking and rafting conditions and firmer trails, though as a rainforest, rain is possible any time; wildlife and birds are most active in the early morning. The rafting on the Cangrejal is exhilarating when river levels are right.

Honest expectations

Much of the park's interior is genuinely wild and inaccessible, so visitors experience its accessible fringes, trails and the river rather than its remote depths, and wildlife like jaguars is present but almost never seen. Trails can be steep and muddy. For lush rainforest hiking, superb birding, waterfalls and thrilling rafting close to the coast and the Bay Islands, though, it is a wonderful natural highlight.

Nearby

The city of La Ceiba, the Cuero y Salado wetlands and the Bay Islands are close.