Punta Izopo National Park Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

Punta Izopo National Park is a protected natural area in the Caribbean coast of northern Honduras. Naturalists come to kayak the swamps and rivers, getting up close to caimans, crocodiles, and flocks of colorful tropical birds.

The park covers an area of 4,500 hectares.

The park was declared a wildlife sanctuary and became part of the Honduras national parks system in 1992. In 1996, it was declared a Ramsar wetland.

The park features coastal shorelines, both rocky and sandy, as well as dense vegetation and shallow waters in sheltered mangrove swamps. A notable estuary is formed by the convergence of the Rio Tornabé and Rio Platanares. The mangroves provide habitat and feeding areas for a number of fish, crustaceans, aquatic birds, and reptiles and amphibians. Rainforests are lush jungles with rolling hills.

The rainforests provide the opportunity to see exotic birds like the toucán, while a number of aquatic species are found on the shorelines, inlets, and swamps (including the fisherman martin). Rainforests are also home to howler monkeys, iguanas, caimans, several species of snake, and several other species of mammals and reptiles.

March and April are the best months for birdwatching because many birds nest at that time.

The nearest airport with commercial flights is the international airport in San Pedro Sula (SAP ^IATA). From San Pedro Sula, it is about a 3-1/2 hour drive to the park via highway CA-13.

The park is only about 12 km from the city of Tela (as the crow flies), but it's about 60 km and 1-1/2 hours by car using the main road. There is a more direct route using dirt backroads that tour guides in Tela know, so if you take a tour from Tela, it may take as little as 20 minutes to get into the park. It is also possible to arrange a boat tour to the park. Ask tour guides in Tela, or hotels can arrange tours for you (most tours leave Tela early in the morning though afternoon tours are also available).

• Hike the park has several trails around the mangrove swamps and through rainforests.

• Kayak through the mangrove swamps and upriver to see magnificent jungle scenery and an amazing diversity of wildlife, like caimans and crocdiles sunning themselves on the river banks.

There are no shops or restaurants within the park, but several are in the nearby town of Tela.

There is no lodge or camping within the national park, but the town of Tela has several budget hotels as well as beachfront resort hotels, including some that are adjacent to the park lands (but without road access into the park).

• Tela
• Jeannette Kawas National Park
• Pico Bonito National Park