9 Days / 8 Nights
Day 1 - Managua
- Laguna de Apoyo
Airport greeting and transfer to the volcanic crater which holds the deep
blue, Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua's largest crater lake, to the research
station for the Proyecto Ecologico, located on the edge of the lagoon.
Lodging at lake front research station.
Day 2 - Laguna
de Apoyo
Full day of bird watching with hiking to where over 145 species have been
documented in this extinct crater's tropical dry forest. The Boat-Billed
Flycatcher, Collared Aracari and Black-Headed Trogon can be found along
with 143 documented species of butterfly, white-faced, howler monkeys,
etc. Lodging at the research station.
Day 3 - Laguna
de Apoyo - Chocoyero - Managua
Morning birding and lunch at the lodge. Transfer north to the nesting
site of thousands of parakeets, the wildlife reserve, El Chocoyero. Afternoon
birding in this tropical dry forest setting with two waterfalls. Departure
to Hotel César for lodging, located in the forested hills behind Managua,
which is home to birds like the Great Kiskadee and Tropical Kingbird.
Day 4 - Managua
- San Carlos - Solentiname
Early morning transfer to airport for domestic flight to the jungle capitol
of San Carlos, located at the mouth of the San Juan River, on Lake Nicaragua's
eastern coast. Private boat transfer to the sacred Indian Archipelago
of Solentiname, 36 desolate islands in Central America's largest lake.
Check in to the lodge on the Island of Mancarrón. Great birding even on
the hotel grounds in this very remote area of the lake. Lodging at the
lake front Refugio Mancarrón.
Morning private boat transfer to the canals of the Los Guatuzos wildlife reserve, for a morning boat tour of one of Central America's finest wildlife reserves, for its abundant, diverse, and accessible mammal, reptile and bird populations. This protected wetland is home to such birds as the Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Limpkin, and numerous migratory songbirds. Assistance of a local guide. Stop off, on the return to Solentiname, at the thriving, lake bird-nesting island site. Lodging at the Refugio Mancarrón.
Morning transfer in boat to the Rio San Juan for the journey to the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, 400,000 hectares of primary rain forest. Extraordinary bird viewing (bird list compiled by UCLA biologists in 1994 and 1999 available upon request). Lodging river front at the Refugio Bartola.
Full day of birding in this primary rain forest on foot and in canoe down the pristine Bartola river. Lodging at Refugio Bartola.
Transfer in private boat to San Carlos for transfer to airstrip and flight to Managua. Airport greeting and transfer to Hotel César. Meals and lodging.
Transfer to airport for flight home.