Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
El Mariposario
(Loma Nelson; admission US$3; 10am-noon & 1-4pm)
Flutter over for a tour of this butterfly
garden, run by a local women's collective. It's located on Loma Nelson, the hill from
where Horatio Nelson bombarded the Spanish fortress.
BUTTERFLY ENCLOSURE
Tours
Conveniently located at the dock, El Castillo's
tourist office
( 8am-noon & 2-5pm)
sources
local guides for a variety of tours. It helps to make reservations a day in advance. Some
menus of guided hikes and
panga
trips:
Reserva Biológica Indio-Maíz, Río Bartola
(US$65; four hours, maximum four people) Take a
private
panga
to the Río Bartola entrance of the Indio-Maíz reserve, then hike 3km though primary
forest, where you'll be dwarfed by 500-year-old giants, taste medicinal plants, and spot tree frogs,
green iguanas and three types of monkey (spider, white-faced and howler). After the hike you'll motor
up Río Bartola, where you'll swim in a crystal-clear river surrounded by jungle.
Reserva Biológica Indio-Maíz, Aguas Frescas
(US$75; five hours, maximum four people) Although
this is virtually identical to the Bartola trip, less visitors hike this tract of forest, which means you are
likely to see more wildlife.
Reserva Biológica Indio-Maíz, Caño Sarnoso
(US$120, five hours, maximum four people) This
boat-only trip (no trekking) travels further down the Río San Juan to observe the ruins of the old
steamboats and abundant wildlife around the El Diamante rapids including crocodiles and abundant
birdlife.
The tourist office also organizes a
Cacao Tour
(US$15 per person), where visitors ob-
serve the entire chocolate-making process, and a
Horseback-Riding Tour
(US$15) through
a private reserve.
You don't have to go through the tourist office, which can seem less than helpful at
times. There are several private operators with signs up around town offering similar tour
rosters.
Nena Tour
( 8821-2135;
www.nenalodge.com
)
A fantastic tour operator based at Nena Lodge offering
all the standard tours plus canoe tours on the nearby Río Juana (US$15 per person, three
hours) and a night alligator tour (US$45 for up to four passengers). Also rents an inflat-
able raft to run the rapids in front of town (US$10 per hour).
ADVENTURE TOUR
Angel Tapia
HORSEBACK RIDING
