Yesterday, after a while of wondering where our next stop is gonna be, we decided to start looking for a place to stay inside the Cockscomb Basin Reserve, known to be the only jaguar reserve in the whole world. Given finding much info about it was quite hard (apparently you can get there with a tour), we end up calling the Belize Aubdoun Society which is the organisation in charge for the place. What a relief ! Not only they clear us up the fact that ALL trails inside the reserve can be self-guided but also that if we want to sleep inside the reserve (avoiding to pay transport to get there every morning) there are rooms available, ranging from dorm to private cabins. Like in Placencia, it’s funny to find out that the price for two beds in a dorm are more expensive then having a room in the Rustic Cabin (a shared cabin room priced 20USD) and therefore we go for the latter.
This morning we catch the first bus to Dangriga (6.15am) but ask the driver to drop us off at Maya Center or in other words, the maya village that was moved away from its old location to make space to what its today the visitor centre of the reserve. Sadly enough, today the village is just on the side of the highway so reaching it with the bus ends up being quite an easy task ! Shortly after unloading our backpacks and several grocery bags (inside the reserve there is a kitchen but no food shop so be prepared to bring your own !), we discover that the only way to get to the reserve is to get a taxi for the cheap price of 20USD… and we even thought about hitchhiking for a second haha ! It has to be said though, that the fare not only include transport there but also a kind of car safari where our driver would stop at every bird we spotted altogether. Nice ! This way we get to see our first sights of the day with a (1) Roadside Hawk and a (2) Collared Aracari topping the list.
On arrival to the visitor centre (25min later), we’re immediately greeted by a very kind young ranger of the reserve that shows us how the place works. As we enter our room, the “Electricity only from 6 to 9pm” & “No warm water” are still getting stuck in our head… but the rooms looks good ! Basic but actually better than expected from an economic lodge in the forest ! Bags down and in no time we’re back at the front office where the same smiling ranger is waiting for us in front of a huge trail map.
He explains us that throughout the reserve, the trails are divided into “easy, average and strenuous” categories ranging from 1hr easy treks around the visitor centre to hardcore 3-4 day treks to Victoria Peak (the second tallest mountain in Belize). Damn, so much to choose from that we don’t know where to start from ! Thankfully, as we’re still trying to make up our minds he starts rolling out suggestions: “In my opinion, the Antelope Trail, Wari Loop (good especially at night), Ben’s Bluff and Tiger Fern Trail are the best of the best to enjoy trekking around here…”. Additionally, he also mention that the Wari Loop is very good for wildlife during the day but especially at night as its the one & only trail used by guides for night walks.
Excited by the many adventures awaiting for us, we set off on the Antelope Trail for our first experience in the park. Camera ready, bug spray on, bottles full of water and hope to see a jaguar high !
The Antelope Trail features a lot of up & down all inside the deep jungle; although the whole path loops along the line that separate the swamps and the hills, it only takes us under 3hrs to finish the trail (c.a. 7.5km) and get back to camp. In regards to wildlife, we don’t really see much apart from a couple of nice-looking birds but at least we discover some (3) Tapir & (4) Ocelot tracks.
In the afternoon, we decide to try our luck with the second most loved trail leading up to a small waterfall and then a great viewpoint: Ben’s Buff Trail. This all-jungle trail is a one-way path (c.a. 5.5km) starts from camp level and goes up to the top of a huge hill crossing a couple of rivers and even a waterfall where to take a swim. This time we’re a little bit more lucky with wildlife and not only we get to see a good variety of small & big birds such as (5) Crested Guan, (6) Slaty-Breasted Tinamou, (7) Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher but we also find a huge (8) Tarantula !
Last but not least, the view from the top. The last couple hundreds meters of the trail are outside the jungle and into a kind of mountain forest where you can overlook over the top of the jungle as long as the eye can see. Fascinating ! And this beauty comes kind of easy as it takes us just 1h 15min to get to the top (breaks included) and just 30min to finish our descent. Definitely a beautiful experience !
Dinner time has finally arrived ! After a long day of trekking, as the electricity of the camp gets switched on (from 6-9pm), we start our pasta cooking in the middle of the jungle. Chirping of birds, sounds coming from the forest, leaves moving and all this just outside the “walls” of our kitchenette ! On top of that, have you ever tried taking a shower in the middle of the jungle after seeing a big sneak passing by a couple of meters from you ? Oh yeah, adventure time !
The next day, after a very chilly night (be sure to have a sleeping bag cause the blankets they give you won’t be enough), we decide to have a more relaxing morning and avoid the big long trails. At around 7am, we take our first walk on the access road which apparently is the place where most of the jaguars are spotted. A (9) Turkey Vulture, a couple of (10) Rufous Mourner, a (11) Lineated Woodpecker and a (12) gorgeous Hepatic Tanager…but not sign of jaguars unfortunately !
Back at the camp, we discover the most annoying thing ever… remember the taxi driver who brought us here on the first day ? On the way back to the maya village HE SAW A JAGUAR CROSSING THE ROAD JUST OUTSIDE THE CAMP !!!!! Unbelievable !! Just a matter of timing !! So lucky !!! It was his second sight of jaguars for the year 2017!
Excited to know jaguars are around, we have breakfast and starts roaming around all the short trails around the camp: Curassow Trail + River Path + Rubber Tree Trail (2.5km). Amazingly, these trails end up being the most enjoyable we’ve walked so far ! We don’t get to see much wildlife apart from the usual bird sights – (13) couple of pale-billed woodpeckers, (14) wedged-bill woodpecker & (15) white-necked jacobin – but we spend most of the time just sitting down by the riverside and listening to the sounds of nature. So peaceful and relaxing…
After a light lunch, we start walking up our last “strenuous” trail: the Tiger Fern. Although the trail (6.5km) is slightly longer than Ben’s Bluff, the perfect balance between riverside & steep up mountain trail makes the whole trek harder but much more enjoyable. The beautiful waterfall near the top is kind of hard to reach (the path is reeeeaalllly steep) but definitely worth the effort since you can even take a refreshing swim in it.
We also see plenty of bird-life all along: (16) Wood Thrush, (17) Buff-Bellied Hummingbird, (18) Yellow-Faced Grassquit, (19) Hooded Warbler, (20) Blue-Black Grosbeak, (21) White-Collared manakin, (22) Cinnamon Hummingbird and (23) Red-Capped Manakin.
And as if that’s not enough, if the view from Ben’s Bluff was crazy beautiful, the view from the top of Tiger Fern has only one word: EPIC ! Thousands of miles of wild jungle, beautiful peaks (including Victoria peak) and no other sounds but nature surrounding you. Chilling on top of the world !
At around 4pm, after spending a good hour and a half in between swimming in the waterfall and enjoying the view on the top, we decide to start heading back before it starts getting dark. Amazingly enough, although it took us around 1h 45min to reach the summit, getting back to the camp only takes us 45min at a normal pace.
Short after dinner, we also decide to try a short night walk on the Wari Loop (5.5km) to try our luck with some night wildlife encounters. Along most of the trail we see plenty of nightjars but the unexpected comes when we’re on our way back. As we pass by a thick section of the jungle, we hear a big animal moving leaves, making stumping noises not more than 10m away from us and then leaving deep into the jungle. Seconds later we meet a local guide with some tourists, saying that we just experienced what an angry tapir sounded like !!! Scary but awesome end of the day !!
On our last early morning, we try our luck again on the access road to see whether any jaguars has come out to wave goodbye but guess what… apart from a lot of fog nothing else can be seen. Thankfully, just a couple of minutes before leaving, a beautiful hummingbird starts feeding on some flowers just nearby our cabin. So amusing seeing it move from flower to flower ! With this last glimpse of amazing wildlife there’s nothing we can do but smile and move on toward our next stop. Hopefully see you soon jaguars !
Also, forgot to mention that while on site we asked a guide to forward us some images of the camera traps used in the park !!! Check this awesome wildlife !
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