Activities at Tortugal
Tortugal is perfectly located for adventures and has many activities to offer! Local adventures begin by stepping outside your door at Tortugal. Make time to explore the local sights while you stay with us. Tortugal is your home base while you explore the many adventures and activities that await!
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Castillo San Felipe
Borrow one of our free kayaks and paddle down the shoreline to the beautiful Castillo de San Felipe, a Spanish fort from the early 1600s. It’s a one hour walk, twenty minutes by kayak, or five minutes by lancha from Tortugal. Take a lunch and enjoy the wonderful view of the river as you explore the history of the fort and the wonderful park around it. There is also a great spot to swim on the Lago de Izabal (Lake Izabal). Guided tours of the fort (in Spanish) are available, which cover the history of the fortification the local region.
Swim in the River
Enjoy the Rio Dulce at its finest right in front of Tortugal. You can swim to a floating platform to catch some sun. The water is clean and the river is quiet. It’s beautiful.
Go Caving at Finca Paraiso
Finca Paraiso is a lodge and waterfall on the way to the town of El Estor. There is a hot spring which flows over a rocky ledge and into a cool river below, creating a natural sauna. It’s a great way to relax the day away! There are also caves to explore. A unique experience for the true adventurer! Required for caving: a waterproof headlamp and a strong swimming skills. This area consists of three caves: The Waterfall Cave, The Shaman’s Cave, The Cave of the Canyon. This trip is permitted with a Finca Paraiso guide only.
Walk to Fronteras
Through the hush of the neighboring hardwood plantation you can walk to the neighboring town of Fronteras. The covered bridge leads through a rough parking lot to a trail (take it to the left going out and to the right coming back). This gravel road ends at a green gate fronting on the paved highway which leads to the right, to Fronteras, to the left, to San Felipe. It’s a pleasant half mile, 20 minute walk to Fronteras, or 5 minutes by lancha.
Though a relatively small and always busy little town, Fronteras offers some excellent food options and relaxing places to hang out. Explore the local community and mix with Q’eqchi Maya as they come to buy and sell in the marketplace, enjoy the river breeze from the river-front food and drink locations, or just enjoy the view from the famous Rio Dulce bridge. On a good day, the Castillo de San Felipe (see above) is visible from the bridge, as is a 360° view of the entire Rio Dulce valley area and the mountains which surround us on all sides.
Living in the mangle of the riverbank are Rio Dulce’s most popular eating fish, the mojarra. Local fishermen throw their nets and create fishing traps from their wooden dug-outs called cayucos and sell their fare at the local fish market.
In addition to mojarra, there are also snapping, painted and mock turtles in and around the river, and bats abound (try to find a bat sleeping on the side of a mangle tree). You may also spot an iguana or an otter.
Tortugal is on the migration trail for parrots and other interesting species of birds. You will hear them, especially as they wake up and get going early in the morning.
Fun At Tijax
Tijax (pronounced tee-hah-sh) is a nearby marina with many ways to pass the time. There’s a swinging bridge, a spring fed swimming hole, a canopy, and a nature tour. Be sure to climb the tower. Tijax has great food and it is close: find it in the corner of the Fronteras Bay. 10 minutes by lancha.
Explore Livingston
An interesting village on the Caribbean coast which can only be reached by boat, Livingston is home to the Garifuna, an Afro-Carib people, and their unique culture. Livingston is famous for the drum-heavy punta music and a very relaxed, easy-going vibe. The people are very friendly and eager to show you around. Many locals speak English very well.
Beaches. Shopping. Garifuna culture. Get there by following the gorgeous Rio Dulce Canyon downriver. Take a Collectivo (public boat) or private lancha. Collectivo leaves at 9:30 am, purchase tickets at Tortugal’s front desk and they will pick you up right from our dock. It’s a wonderful, all day long trip.
Check out the La Buga restaurant – which is manned by young graduates from Ak Tenamit, a grassroots Q’eqchi Maya project and school. It’s created as a cooperative for the Q’eqchi (Mayan) elders with the organizational help of an American, Steven Dudenhofer.
Ak Tenamit is worth a visit in itself. The school at Ak Tenamit blends traditional culture and wisdom of the Maya with an agriculturally based educational system from Colombia. Ak Tenamit is located just off the Rio Dulce canyon, about a mile up the Tatin river as you enter it from the Golfete. There are two campuses: the most frequently visited is the boy’s campus located at the headwaters of the River Tatin.
Visit Casa Guatemala
Just downriver from Fronteras, Casa Guatemala is a school for children who otherwise have no access to education. Because many of the children are from remote villages, roughly half of the 250 students live on-site during the school year (January through October). Casa Guatemala is always looking for volunteers!
Casa Guatemala is also known as “The Children’s Village” (“El pueblo de los niños”) because of the many projects and facilities they provide. They raise food and supply local restaurants and boats in the various marinas. You can purchase Casa Guatemala produced chickens, eggs, cheeses, and pork products when the CG lancha (boat) visits your marina or you can visit the Fronteras store, called “Granja de los Ninos” (the farm of the children). The children of Casa Guatemala are schooled in English in addition to their other subjects, and they learn to work and to provide for themselves. Casa Guatemala strives to ensure equal access to education for both boys and girls, assuring that future generations will be well-educated and self-sufficient.
Casa Guatemala is about a 20 minute lancha ride from Tortugal. Visits and tours can be arranged at Hotel Backpackers, which is located directly under the bridge on the El Relleno (southeast) side of the river. Come and see the future leaders of Guatemala!
