In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle…the Coati Sleeps Tonight
November 20, 2009 by Melanie
Filed under Belize, Central America, The Americas
White-nosed Coati by David Mason
Ever wanted to stay in the jungle but not, say, on the jungle? Try the Jaguar Paw Resort, set within 215 acres of jungle and wildlife reserve in central Belize.
Every room has a different quirky theme, it’s got the best food for miles around, and the raccoon/cat/bear critters known as coatis run safe and free. Howler monkeys whoop their war cries from the tall and tangled trees, and your adventure has just begun.
A leafy sea of green in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, 75 minutes from the international airport in Belize City, the sustainable compound at Jaguar Paw is a bit like a friendly (even romantic), version of Jurassic Park. Said monkeys provide the occasional wild, thundering soundtrack, and thick vines drape over a main building styled like a Mayan temple…that is, if the Mayans had been hip to gargoyles.
As if the novelty of spending the night amongst enormous palm fronds and animal echoes isn’t enough for you, Jaguar Paw offers 16 rooms that have each been decorated (by co-owner Donna Young) in a different whackadoodle style. You can choose from Africa, merry old England, the American Southwest, or my favorite, the jungle-within-a-jungle room. In a great triumph of OCD expression, one bathroom has been hand-studded from floor to ceiling with Belizean shells; it could make a simple trip to the loo feel like performance art.
Rooms at Jaguar Paw Resort - Photos by Almost Fearless
Visitors flock to this stretch of jungle for adventure — more on zip-lining through the adjacent rainforest and river-cave tubing to come — but the resort itself is intent on teaching you about Belize’s exotic flora and fauna and how to honor and protect it. Fixate on a single verdant spot and try to count the enormous array of plants per square inch, delight in the rare Blue Morphos at the butterfly farm, or go forth with resort guides in search of native tropical flowers (there are over 4,000 kinds in Belize) or a crayon box’s worth of birds.
Kinkajous and jaguars pad around the resort’s fringes late at night, but during the day it’s not uncommon for a flurry of coatis to burst across the jungle floor, scattering and sniffing; the resort has its own on-site rescue program for these curious and endangered creatures. As I stood stock still on a pebbly path in deep shade, a lone coati snuffled his way over to me, looked up, squinted, and walked beside me for ten delirious seconds before scooting off into the trees.
Take a dip in the pool or hot tub beneath soaring trees, and don’t miss a meal of Mayan-spiced chicken and Belizean beans-and-rice with coconut milk, accompanied by veggies from the resort’s own on-site garden. And be sure to indulge in some seated jungle immersion in the frondy bar out back: Monkeys + Belikin beer = vacation.
Rooms range from $125 in low season (mid-May to mid-December) to $220 in high (mid-December to mid-May). Airport transfers and activities ranging from night jungle prowls to cave tours can be arranged directly through Jaguar Paw Resort.
(I visited Jaguar Paw as part of the Belize Tourism Board’s first sponsored travel blogger’s trip to Belize. That said, it’s safe to say that Adam and I would happily stay there on our own dime. Any doubt? Please refer to “coati,” “jungle prowl” and “on-site garden.”)
So glad to see you made it to Belize! Stephen and I were there a year ago and loooved it. So much to see and do, and it’s close (only two hour flight from Texas)! You also have some great pictures — love the one of the fisherman throwing out his net. Nicely done.
The differently themed rooms have so much thought and work put into them!
Wow, I’ve never heard of coati until now. I’m learning so much about Belize from your trip.
This resort sounds like my kind of place and I think I’d request your favorite room – the jungle with in a jungle.