Rio Kruta National Park

Docks in Puerto Lempira

Rio Kruta National Park is a national park on the Caribbean coast in eastern Honduras, an area known as the Miskito Coast. It is a massive natural wetland area of more than 115,000 hectares that provides protected habitat for sea turtles, manatees, birds, and a number of mammals and reptiles who thrive in the jungle wetlands.

Understand

The park stretches along the Caribbean coast between the mouths of the Rio Kruta (for which the park is named) and Rio Cuco. It is sparsely populated by an indigenous people known as the Miskito and the traditional Miskito language is widely spoken in eastern Honduras and northeastern Nicaragua, though most people also speak Spanish and occasionally English. The park has one coastal town, called Puerto Lempira, that is completely inside the park boundaries. This town provides access by air and sea and is the only nearby developed area with stores, hotels, and restaurants.

The park is dense jungle with natural waterways and canals criss-crossing the land mass between the two major rivers.

Flora and fauna

The park is a nesting area for four species of sea turtle. The turtles nest on beaches in the Laguna de Caratasca and along the river deltas. More than 100 bird species are known to live along the shore and in the inland jungles. These birds include many species of aquatic birds like herons, gulls, cormorants, ibises and more. The inland forests provide habitat for songbirds like warblers as well as parrots and parakeets along with birds of prey like falcons and vultures. The rivers provide homes for manatees who thrive in the mangrove swamps. The rivers and canals are home to alligators, caiman and a large variety of snakes (both venomous and non-venomous). Monkeys live in the forest canopy while deer, jaguar, peccary and other mammals thrive on the ground.

Get in

CM Airlines turboprop on the runway in Puerto Lempira

The town inside the park is Puerto Lempira. It is a small community that lies on Cape Gracias a Dios.

By plane

From Tegucigalpa, CM Airlines flies turboprop aircraft 3 times weekly direct to Puerto Lempira.

• 1 Aeropuerto Puerto Lempira (PEU  ^IATA), GL26. Small regional airport in the center of town with one well-maintained dirt runway. Handles small commercial aircraft up to about 50 passengers. Served by CM Airlines, Aerocaribe, and Lanhsa. Flights do not go every day and schedules are subject to change so book direct with the carrier and confirm flight schedules. 

By boat

A ferry operates from La Ceiba to Puerto Lempira. It is an 18-hour ride.

Get around

Trails lead from town into the jungles. You can hire a local guide in Puerto Lempira to take you on nature hikes or for birdwatching.

The park is dense jungle with natural waterways and canals criss-crossing the jungle between the two major rivers. Most people venturing into the park do so in lanchas, small boats that can be hired in Puerto Lempira.

Eat

• 1 Polloki, Puerto Lempira. Traditional restaurant, clean and comfortable serving regional Honduran food. Roast chicken with fried plantains, etc. (updated May 2024)
• 2 Sweet Liberty (across the street from the children's playground (parque infantil)), ☏ +504 3305 8033. Daily 08:30 - 00:00. Casual beachfront restaurant with a spacious patio dining area. Seafood and regional Honduran cuisine. (updated May 2024)

Sleep

Hotels and rooms are available in Puerto Lempira.

• 1 Hotel Yu Baiwan, Puerto Lempira, ☏ +504 8871 8485. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Modern beachside hotel with on-site restaurant and bar. Tables outdoors on the beach. Rooms are clean, spacious and well-furnished. Friendly service. 

• 2 Hotel Pinares, Puerto Lempira, ☏ +504 9586 2104. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Traditional colonial-style hotel with on-site restaurant and bar (closed Sundays). Ocean views from many rooms. Electricity is provided by generator which runs only a few hours per day (typically 6pm to midnight). 

Stay safe

Bring appropriate clothing for hot weather and jungle backcountry, including long pants, heavy boots, and enough clean socks to change into when yours get wet. There is no potable water in the park, so bring drinking water (at least 2 liters per day). Wear a hat and bring sunglasses for protection from the sun.

Go next

• Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve
• Pico Bonito National Park
• La Ceiba