Pico Bonito National Park

Named after a jagged green 2,436m (7,992-ft.) mountain just south of La Ceiba, Pico Bonito National Park is central to La Ceiba's eco-future. Outside of boasting one of the top nature lodges in the world, the more than 100,000-hectare (247,105-acre) park ranges in altitude from sea level to more than 2,000m (6,562 ft.), which results in seven different ecosystems and an extremely high level of biodiversity. While much of the park is off-limits and remains unexplored, large tracts exist of nearly virgin rainforest, cloud forest, waterfalls, rivers, and crystalline pools to explore. Bird life includes more than 400 species, such as toucans, trogons, motmots, and hummingbirds, while mammals spotted here include jaguars, ocelots, tapirs, pumas, deer, and white-faced and spider monkeys, as well as hundreds of species of reptiles, amphibians, and butterflies.

Because the area is quickly becoming the center of ecotourism in Honduras, the road that runs up into Pico Bonito National Park along the whitewater of the Río Cangrejal has seen the construction of several new eco-lodges in recent years and several more on the way. Nearly every adventure-tour operator runs rapids tours, hiking trips, mountain biking runs, and canopy tours in the area, and has built or is building an inexpensive eco-lodge. Previously, the only access to the park was through the Lodge at Pico Bonito.