The gorge
Forested cliffs.
Lara Natalia Haenny larahaenny — CC0 · MacAllenBrothers' — CC BY-SA 2.0 · MacAllenBrothers' — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chapinlandia999 — CC BY-SA 4.0
One of Central America's finest river trips: the Río Dulce, the «sweet river», links Lake Izabal to the Caribbean over some forty kilometres, crossing the broad El Golfete lake and then entering a narrow gorge between limestone cliffs whose forest-clad walls rise straight out of the water. Speedboats leave Río Dulce town, passing Castillo de San Felipe, then small islands with herons, cormorants and pelicans overhead, wooden stilt houses and fishermen's dugout canoes. In the gorge, water lilies and climbing plants hang from the cliffs. Some boats stop at sulphurous hot springs that spill into the river at the foot of a cliff, and at Bird Island, white with herons in the evening, before emerging into the sea at Livingston. The river has been protected as a national park since 1955, and rare manatees live in its waters. Bring a light jacket, as the air on the boat is fresh.
Forested cliffs.
At the cliff's foot.
Herons at dusk.
Río Dulce National Park, between Lake Izabal and Livingston
About two hours with stops; public boats leave in the morning and return in the afternoon.