Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and semiarid plains. As you head east from Guatemala City on the Carretera al Atlántico
(CA-9), the road descends into this region of dusty plains and cactus-studded hills. Farther
along, in the department of Izabal, the terrain becomes lush and green before ending at
Puerto Barrios, on the Caribbean Sea, just about 300 kilometers from the capital.
The Izabal region features a unique kind of Caribbean experience not at all like Cancún
or the West Indies but nonetheless beautiful. Tourism promoters have labeled this, “A dif-
ferent Caribbean.” Cruise ships regularly dock at Puerto Santo Tomás de Castilla, just
across the bay from Puerto Barrios. Its new cruise-ship terminal is fast becoming a motor
for the tourism development of this long-overlooked Caribbean coastal region. Cruise-ship
day-trippers can explore a rainforest and pristine jungle river with waterfalls and pools in
the lush green mountains looming over the port. From Puerto Barrios, it's just a quick hop
to remote beaches on the peninsula of Punta de Manabique, the intriguing Caribbean town
of Lívingston, or the exotic jungle canyon of the Río Dulce.
The little-explored beaches and wetlands of Punta de Manabique are protected as a
wildlife refuge and offer some unique opportunities for ecotourism, wildlife-viewing, and
beachcombing. Lívingston is a standout for its unique Garífuna culture brought to coastal
Guatemala from the Caribbean island of St. Vincent by way of Roatán, Honduras. This
Black Carib influence provides a fascinating contrast to Guatemala's largely Mayan her-
itage with rhythmic dancing and musical customs that complete the Caribbean experien-
ce. The Río Dulce canyon connects Lívingston (and the Caribbean Sea) to Lake Izabal,
Guatemala'slargestlake.AlongtheRíoDulce,you'llfindlushjunglecanyons,hotsprings,
and side streams offering unique options for jungle accommodations. In the town of Río
Dulce, at the mouth of Lake Izabal, you'll find a variety of tourist services and boat mari-
nas,asit'sbecome apopularshelter forboatssailing theWesternCaribbean. Thehomesof
wealthy Guatemalans also dot the river's banks. Lake Izabal harbors some intriguing nat-
ural attractions of its own, including a vast, little-explored wetland preserve of astounding
biological diversity and a funky Spanish castle built to repel the attacks of 17th-century
pirates.
