With more than 100,000 hectares, the country’s second largest national park near La Ceiba is named after the 2436m “pretty” peak. Climbing its steep mountain walls covered by dense cloud forest is extremely arduous and is reserved for experts, while visitors can explore the lower regions around the Zacate and Cangrejal river courses on their own along several trails.
The park’s habitats change from tropical rainforest on the coastal plain to deciduous forest and finally cloud forest from an elevation of about 1200 meters.
Pico Bonito National Park is dominated by mighty trees with board roots that form a closed canopy at heights of up to 60 meters. These tropical jungle giants include mahogany, cedar, laurel, ironwood and ebony, while the lowland tropical forests are dominated by gallery forests with no less impressive ceiba trees, guanacasts and fig trees.
The range of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians of Pico Bonito also includes many endangered species. Mammal species in the park include tapir, white-tailed deer, jaguar, paca, anteater, collared peccary, capuchin and howler monkey. Interesting bird species include great curassow (chicken bird), muscovy duck, white-crested and highland guan, yellow-naped amazon, slate-colored solitaire and finally the quetzal. Among the reptiles are red-eyed frog, crowned basilisk and the boa constrictor (harmless to humans).
Those who like it more active can go rafting on the Río Cangrajal as well as so-called canyoning tours, where you can drift in the river, use rocks and small reefs as water slides or even dive into the floods by jumping from one of them.