3 Best Sights in Las Marias, La Mosquitia

Easy, one day, one guide (optional). For a true feel of life in Las Marías, follow the flat dirt trail around the village for a couple of hours. A local guide can point out medicinal plants and trees used for crafts, although the walk is easy enough to go it alone. Start at the boat landing and pass the humble one-room homes, a schoolhouse, and local clinic, then cross a narrow bridge to the second river access. The footpath loops around and brings you back to the central part of town.

Easy, one day, three guides. A favorite tour among visitors here, this mild day trip starts with a two-hour pipante ride up the Río Plátano. Pull off at the head of the Kuyuzqui trail and take an intermediate one-to-two-hour hike through lush jungle landscape. Moss-covered benches and a creaky, off-limits observation tower are remnants of previous tourism efforts that, at this writing, guides hope will soon be restored. Continue upriver to the petroglyphs and disembark for a picnic lunch. In the dry season, water around the rock carvings dries up and makes for a pleasant rest on the beach. Return downriver to Las Marías in the late afternoon.

Easy, two days, three guides. The extended petroglyphs tour starts off the same as the trip to Walpaulbansirpe. Rather than return to Las Marías, however, you'll spend the night camping or at a nearby hospedaje. On the second day, the pipante continues upriver to the second set of carvings, stopping occasionally for quick hikes along the banks of Río Plátano. Coast back to Las Marías that afternoon.