Suria and Selva Bananito Adventures

We left Tiskita and headed back into a cloud forest to hotel de Suria in San Gerado de Dota. We were amazed to see how foggy it was as we drove through the clouds up the mountain. Once we arrived, we spent our days hiking the area and exploring caves. We also were able to see a male and female pair of the resplendant quetzal.

One of the days we went to a resplendant quetzal research facility. There, we were taught how the field biologists conduct their studies. After, we went to a trout farm and learned about how they save resources. We even got to take our turns fishing and ate our trout for dinner!

The last full day in San Gerado de Dota we hiked up Cerro de la Muerte, or the hill of death. A very steep climb, but well worth it. We were interested to see how the foliage changed so drastically as we climbed up to 11,000 feet in elevation.

The next day we traveled to Selva Bananito. The last hour of the drive we ditched our bus and drove up in an old army truck! Once we arrived, we immediately decided this was going to be a great spot. That night, the owner gave us a special presentation about how this ecolodge started and its importance.

The first full day we were taken out by a guide to go birding and saw over 50 species in only 2 hours! After lunch, we were taken out on another hike to explore the property and learn about the history of the land.

The next day we went on another guided hike to learn about the forest. We were showed a kerosene tree that could be lit on fire even in this humid climate. The guide showed us many plants where medicines come from and even silk web from a spider that is so strong you can pull it and it won't break. We were excited to see a hog-nosed viper and a parrot snake on our tour.

The rest of the day we went horseback riding on the property and were able to gallop. We also went tree climbing which was a fun experience for all. We were so high up the Montezuma oropendola's were at eye level.