http://www.solentiname.org

Los Guatuzos Wildlife Refuge

The Refugio de Vida Silvestre Los Guatuzos protects 43,750 hectares of wetlands and rain forest. Nicaraguan biologists consider it the cradle of life for the lake, thanks to its importance as a bird nesting site and critical links in the area’s complex ecological chain. More than 12 rivers cross the reserve with the most popular wildlife-viewing river being the Río Papaturro. This pristine little river is poetic in its variable and persistent beauty. Best of all it is lined with gallery forest, the ideal situation for wildlife viewing. The banks of the river support varied vegetation and trees that are backed by open wetlands allowing light into the trees and exposing the regions rich flora and fauna.

It is best to start early in the morning to cruise across the Great Lake Cocibolca and up the Papaturro River. We will explore this extensive strip of protected wetlands and wildlife, bordered on the south by Costa Rica and on the north by the extreme southern shore of Lake Cocibolca. This is the only internationally registered tropical wetland area in Nicaragua.We always see monkeys, crocodiles, iguanas and lizards of many types, sloths, turtles, toucans, and great white egrets-the guardians of this natural wonder.

In addition to the myriad species of animals, the area is inhabited by some 1,700 fishermen and subsistence farmers in 11 small communities, descendants of the Zapote and Guatuzo (or Maleku) peoples that originally settled here, as well as the Mestizos who arrived in the late 19th century in search of rubber trees.

The amount of wildlife (and mosquitoes) in the refuge is astounding— No less than 389 species of birds have been observed, and between February and April, tens of thousands of migratory species fly through in spectacular concentrations. Los Guatuzos contains dense populations of crocodiles, caimans, feral pigs, jaguars, and monkeys. The waters are also home to a rare, ancient species of fish called the gaspar (Actractoseus tropic us), a living, armored relic of the Jurassic age, with a snout and fangs that it uses to eat other fish, crabs, and small turtles.

Twenty kilometers from Solentiname, up the Río Papaturro, the refuge’s Centro Ecológico, (e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) offers rustic rooms, plus a full list of activities, including photo/bird-watching safaris, fishing trips, horseback rides through the woods, and boat trips in the surrounding wetlands and lake. There is also an orchid display (92 species), a butterfly farm, and a turtle and caiman nurseries.