Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Refugio Bocas del Polochic & Reserva de Biosfera Sierra de las Minas
The Refugio Bocas del Polochic (Bocas del Polochic Wildlife Reserve) covers the delta of
the Río Polochic, which provides most of Lago de Izabal's water. A visit here provides
great bird-watching and howler-monkey observation. The reserve supports more than 300
species of birds - the migration seasons, September to October and April to May, are re-
portedly fantastic - and many varieties of butterflies and fish. You may well see alligators
and, if you're very lucky, glimpse a manatee. Ask at Café Portal in El Estor for boat
guides.
The reserve is managed by the
Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza
( 7949-7130;
www.defensores.org.gt
;
cnr 5a Av & 2a Calle, El Estor)
, whose research station, the
Estación Científica
Selempim
, just south of Refugio Bocas del Polochic, in the Reserva de Biosfera Sierra de
las Minas, is open for ecotouristic visits. Contact Defensores' El Estor office for bookings
and further information.
You can get to the station on a local
lancha
service leaving El Estor at noon on
Monday, Wednesday and Saturday (Q40 round trip, 1¼ hours each way) or by special hire
(Q400 for a boatload of up to 12 people), and stay in a rustic wood-and-thatch
rancho
(per
person Q40) or camp (per person Q20). There's no restaurant, but you can bring food and
use the Estación Científica's kitchen. To explore the reserves you can use canoes free of
charge, take boat trips (Q200 to Q300) or walk any of the three well- established trails.
The foundation also oversees another community tourism site at Chapín Abajo, on the
other side of the lake where you can stay in a bit more comfort and make day trips to the
reserve.
Chapín Abajo
To get right off the beaten track, make your way to this charming little village on the
southwest shore of the lake. The
community tourism project
( 4672-4773;
www.turismocomunitarioguatemala.com/chapin_abajo.html
)
here offers accommodation in sweet
wooden lakeside
bungalows
( 4672-4773; s/d Q125/200, per person without bathroom Q75)
with water
views. Simple meals and boat tours (Q375, two hours) are available.
The village is 25 km west of Mariscos on an unmade but passable road. It's tricky get-
ting here by road - catch any bus heading along Hwy 9 and get off at Trincheras junction
(Km 218) - the turnoff for Mariscos, where minibuses (Q10) make the run into town.
Coming from Los Amates or Quiriguá, there are direct minibuses to Mariscos. From Mar-
