Rafting the Río Plátano
A 10- to 14-day whitewater rafting excursion down the Río Plátano doesn't just take travelers from point A to point B; it offers a unique glance at a remote world otherwise unexplored, combining rare archeological finds and wildlife with cultural encounters and the chance to experience the Río Plátano reserve in its majestic entirety.
Jorge Salaverri, an expert on La Mosquitía and a U.S.-trained forester, leads trips with his La Moskitia Ecoaventuras, as does The Exploration Foundation's Dr. Christopher Begley, an anthropologist with 20 years of experience in the region. Together with naturalist Robert Gallardo, both men offer rain-forest rafting trips through the Mesoamérican Ecotourism Alliance (MEA).
Most 14-day trips begin in Tegucigalpa or La Ceiba and arrive by flight, though it is possible to get there by land. Groups then head to Bonanza, a town bordering the Río Plátano reserve, on the second day. Travelers hike for six hours across rugged terrain as mules haul the gear to arrive in Warsaka, a campsite at the headwaters of the Río Plátano and home to the ancient ruins of El Higerito. On the fourth day, hikers trek to the Lancetillal archeological site replete with stone plazas, monuments, and petroglyphs. Rafting begins on the fifth day in Class II and III rapids and ends with a visit to the cobblestone walls of the Río Malo archeological site.
On the sixth day, head to concealed caves and an underground creek at Río Camalotal, then go to Los Metates, a village filled with thousands of small stone artifacts. The seventh day takes rafters over smooth waters to El Subterráneo, a narrow gorge full of enormous boulders and rocky Class II rapids. On day eight, difficult waters give way to a calm, three-hour ride to camp and an easy five-hour paddle the next day. Travelers pass the Walpaulbantara petroglyphs on the tenth day and the Walpaulbansirpe carvings on the eleventh, ending the rafting excursion with an overnight and cultural evening in the Miskito and Pech village of Las Marías. The last three days include a six-hour cayuko (motorized canoe) ride north to the Miskito and Garífuna villages around Laguna de Ibans, with a flight back to Tegucigalpa on the final day.
La Moskitia Ecoaventuras, MEA, and The Exploration Foundation offer variations of this itinerary and can focus more on wildlife and adventure than on archeology. Packages with any operator are pricy—from $1,500 to $2,800 depending on the duration and group size—but all camping and rafting equipment, meals, lodging, and guide fees are included.
