PARQUE NACIONAL JEANNETTE KAWAS (PUNTA SAL)

This 782-square-kilometer national park lies to the west of Tela Bay. It owes its name to Jeannette Kawas, an environmentalist (president of the Prolosante association) who fought all her life to protect the coastline from peasant cooperatives involved in the cultivation of African palm trees (palm oil), before being assassinated in April 1995. It's also known as "Punta Sal": nothing to do with sal (salt in Spanish); "sal" comes from salir ("to go out" in Spanish).

Pirates appreciated the small bays for the refuge they offered (notably Puerto Escondido); today, tourists enjoy the charm of their beautiful beaches (not the most beautiful in the Caribbean, but still!); and adventurers of all eras love the "end of the world" and wild side of the park.

There are two major sites: the peninsula and the lagoon (both of which are the subject of appropriate excursions). To access the peninsula, you have to pay an entrance fee (often included in the operator's package). The classic excursion includes a one-hour lancha ride to a first beach (with dolphins, if you're lucky); then a very easy and perhaps a little slow ride of around half an hour to an hour to another beach (with howler and bald-headed monkeys, spiders, snakes and beautiful tropical vegetation); the lancha picks up the tourists again, passes by the tip of the peninsula (petrels, etc.) before docking for a further hour or so.finally, we finish with a meal on a beautiful beach inhabited by an indigenous Garifuna community (playa Cocolito). It's also possible to camp here: an alternative not to be overlooked in these superb surroundings. Remember to bring everything with you.

The Laguna de los Micos is a bird-watcher's paradise: no fewer than 350 species were identified during the summer. Also on the program: monkeys, turtles, iguanas, etc. The mangroves make up a unique landscape. The tour also includes a visit to the authentic Garifuna village of Miami, one of the most beautiful natural sites on the north coast of Honduras. It is built entirely of manja, caña brava and palm leaves.