Rio Plátano Expedition (13 days)

For the more experienced outdoor traveler, these multi-day excursions offered by Omega Tours will be one of the extreme highlights of your life!

It's an all-round adventure, exploring and traveling the heart of La Mosquitia from inland to the coast and observing the best animal and natural spot in Central America. Camping for most of the trips, our guests will need a 'survival spirit' and the ability to approach certain difficult situations with a clear and level head (a true test of the ardent outdoor traveler!).

Our expedition trips will be exhausting but you will be properly fueled by the hearty appetizing open-fire meals (no dieting on our trips!) and prepared by your guide. Our Rio Plátano expedition excursions are unforgettable and arguably the most mind-blowing experiences of a lifetime.

Day 1

After an early breakfast we start from the Omega Tours Eco Jungle Lodge  and drive by 4x4 over paved and dirt roads to Catacamas, a typical “cowboy town”. Here is the last hotel, for the next couple of nights.

Day 2

Coming through Dulce Nombre De Culmi and Las Arenas, the dirt road gets really bad!  Sometimes we have to leave our vehicle, to walk a few meters.  Finally we get to Bonanza and stay with a local family in their living room or we pitch our tents.  Nightfall is early and there is no electricity in Bonanza. Tomorrow is going to be a long day of hiking!

Day 3

After a typical breakfast prepared by our hosts we load our mules and start walking towards the Rio Plátano. Leaving Bonanza behind we walk through primary rainforest and places where cattle farmers burnt down wide areas. At the end of the day we are in pure, uninhabited rainforest. Our tonight's camp will be past Guarasca, where Rio Blanco and Rio Guarasca meet to form the Rio Plátano. This is where we will start our rafting expedition the following morning.

For the first time we set up camp, collect firewood and cook on our campfire.

Day 4 - 6

This morning we inflate the rafts and load them up for the first time…. We ll get better throughout the trip! After breakfast and the safety instructions we start maneuvering through the first rapids. The river is very small and the first day we have to leave the rafts several times to lift them over shallow parts or over and under fallen trees possibly blocking the river. There are some class II and III rapids, most of the rafting is floating and enjoying nature.  We will see a lot of wild animals, definitely the best wildlife in Central America. Until we reach Las Marias we will have no contact at all with any form of civilization, including contact to human beings. Day 5 on the river we will stop at a very nice camp spot. There is a cave about an hour of a walk away where we'll see artifacts still laying around on the ground… This is an incredible feature with a creek flowing into a mountain, into a cave and out of it again….we'll bring our flashlights and walk and wade through it! A unique experience.

Day 7 & 8

The days of the “Subterrano”: the whole river disappears under an immense rock.  We have to portage several times: the mile-long gorge keeps us busy all day long, probably 2 days even. At the end of this we'll be tired and happy to have made it through this spectacular gorge section.

Day 9 - 11

In our raft through primary rainforest, enjoying nature at its best. We will see the three Petroglyph sites, supposed to be signs that lead ancient traders to the White City, more than 3'000 years ago. It is considered the most important center in C.A.. End of day 11 we reach Las Marias: back to civilization - almost. This Miskito village is built out of wood, bamboo and palm leaves.  Finally we eat rice and beans again and sleep in a very basic hospedaje” built in the Miskito style: on poles, out of wood and a thatched roof.

Day 12

The deflated rafts and all our equipment including ourselves go on a pipante (motorized dugout canoe) downriver, towards the coast. There are Miskito people living here and there in their typical houses along the river, planting yucca, rice and –of course- plantains. Just before we reach the coast, we turn into a narrow channel, full of mangroves, to bring us to the Lagoon of Ibans.  We stop in a small village, called Raista, which is situated on 100m wide sand-bank between sweet water lagoon and secluded Caribbean beaches. On this beautiful patch we spend our last night in La Moskitia.

Day 13

In the early morning a Tuc-Tuc takes us through Ibans Lagoon and a labyrinth of natural channels to Palacios and Batalla. Here we load all our gear on a pick up truck, sqeeze ourselves in and on top of the truck and start our travel back to La Ceiba. Before we reach there we drive along empty beaches and through little rivers. Where it gets too deep we drive on top of home made rafts out of oil drums and wood planks to make it over to the other side!

At the end of the day we will be back at Omega Tours Eco Jungle Lodge, ready to enjoy a cold beer in our freshwater pool and an excellent dinner at night.