8 Best Sights in La Mosquitia, Honduras

Well, more like dusk than full-on night: canoes slither through shaded canals in the early evening as passengers stay on the lookout for crocodiles and caimans. Flashlight beams find the red reflection in reptilian eyes, and the remaining daylight affords decent bird-watching and wildlife observation.

Not that you'll need it here (unless you really plan poorly), but local guides in Raista offer a five-hour training session in jungle survival skills. The course teaches how to find sources of food and drinkable water, how to spot medicinal plants and natural mosquito repellents, plus orientation in the jungle.

A two- to three-hour guided excursion maneuvers passengers through the coastal wetlands and mangrove swamps. Trip goers stay on the lookout for tropical monkeys dangling from high-above perches as parrots and storks peek out from the forest. It's possible to spot an endangered Caribbean manatee gliding slowly below.

This four- to five-hour day trip starts across the lagoon in the nearby lowland rain forest, where spotting troops of howler monkeys is possible, albeit unguaranteed. Hikers set off through the jungle on a moderately difficult hike and plunge into the refreshing Paru Creek with inner tubes in hand. From there, it's a tranquil float downstream with bird-watching and wildlife spotting above in the rain-forest canopy.

This moderately difficult trip starts in a translucent creek near the pine savanna. Kayakers paddle around the canals and lagoon for an hour or so while spotting a diverse number of birds up above.

From February to September each year, Doña Patrocinia heads the grassroots group that organizes volunteer trips during the nesting period of green, leatherback, and loggerhead turtles. Participants head out at night to comb the beaches for turtle nests, collect the freshly laid eggs, and rebury them in a protected sanctuary intended to fend off poachers and predators. The eggs hatch three months later, and the young turtles are released back into the lagoon. Plaplaya villagers also take part in the project during the height of the turtle season, from April to July.

Local Miskito guides lead a two-hour tour out on the lagoon to showcase their centuries-old fishing techniques with wooden poles and handmade nets. The trip is also a good opportunity to learn more about the indigenous culture and language.

A local guide will point out wildlife during an hour-long hike across the shrubby forest. At the end of the trail, hop into the clear creek and float on an inner tube back to the cabañas.