Capiro Calentura National Park Voyage Tips and guide

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Capiro Calentura National Park (often referred to as Capiro National Park) is a protected natural area in the Caribbean region of northern Honduras.

The Parque Nacional Capiro Calentura was established as part of the Honduras national parks system in 1992.

The park covers an area of about 8,000 hectares along the Caribbean coast. The most prominent geographic features are two large mountains, Capiro and Calentura, that rise up close to the coast. The peak elevation is 1,235 meters. The park includes the lowlands surrounding the two mountains including beachfront on the Bay of Trujillo. Panoramic views of Trujillo Bay are your reward for finishing the 4-hour trek to the top of one of the park's two mountains.

The mountains are covered in lush tropical rainforests with mountain streams cascading down the rocky slopes. At higher elevations, the cooler temperatures form moist, dense fog that blankets the treetops.

A wide range of tropical plants grow in the forests and rainforests of the park. Ferns grow below a canopy formed by tall ceiba trees and mahogony. Orchids thrive in the humid environment.

Birdwatchers will find some 200 species in the park, including shorebirds and forest birds in the lowlands and colorful tropical denizens like toucans, macaws, and parrots providing flashes of color among the green foliage, with delicate hummingbirds flitting near wild flowers.

Reptiles like the green iguana and a variety of both venomous and non-venomous snakes are found throughout the park while many of the mammals, including the elusive jaguar, ocelot, and capuchin monkey, prefer to stay quietly out of sight. Smaller mammals include armadillos, peccaries and agoutis. If you're lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the maned howler monkey, which is thought to play a key role in promoting plant diversity by spreading seeds throughout its range. One of the oddest looking animals in the park is the red eyed tree frog, whose green skin might provide some camouflage for the animal but its bright red eyes would surely make it stand out.

Follow the instructions for Getting to Trujillo. The park entrance is at the south end of town.

No fees are required but a local guide may be useful. Tour services in Trujillo have guides who can lead hikes to the summit.

Hike.

• Cuevas de Cuyamel - on the slopes of Calentura are a series of Karst caves where remnants of pre-Colombian occupation have been found, including stone utensils as well as vases and other ceramics made of gray or reddish brown clay

• Hiking - the park has several good trails with the most popular going to the summits of the two mountains, it takes about 4 hours to hike up either mountain so either start early in the morning or plan to spend a night on the mountain

• Birdwatching

There is no park infrastructure so bring anything you're going to need (especially water since there is no water source in the park). Anything you need can be purchased in the town of Trujillo.

Backcountry camping is allowed. Cleared sites are available at the summit near the radar station, but there is no access to water, so bring what you need and pack out any trash.

• Trujillo
• Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve
• Pico Bonito National Park