3 days as part of a tailor-made holidayRio San Jaun is a forgotten waterway winding through dense rainforest past volcanoes with waterfalls and rapids challenging its navigation. This is Central America at its wildest. There are few roads - transport between ramshackle settlements is buy river in dugout canoes or basic passenger launches. The riverbanks are peppered with cabins on stilts where the people live a modest and still (just) undisturbed life. A visit is a unique jungle experience.
We recommend a 3 day visit.
Fly by light aircraft from Managua to the frontier town of San Carlos on the banks of the Rio San Juan, and onwards by motorised canoe to riverside accommodation perfectly situated for exploration in the surrounding jungle. Visit El Castillo Fortress, one of the oldest colonial buildings in Nicaragua, dating back to 1673, built by the Spanish to protect the affluent trading city of Granada from European pirates.
Visit the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, one of the most ecologically important areas of forest in Central America with more species of bird, trees and insects than in the whole of Europe. In the afternoon of the third day you can return to Managua or continue to Costa Rica. |