Explore Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary and Jaguar Preserve, Jungle Hike and River Tubing
Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary has the world’s highest concentration of big cats. In addition to jaguars, this 126,000-acre Jaguar Reserve is home to jaguarondis, pumas, ocelots, and margays. There is also a lot of “cat food” to be found including agouties, anteaters, armadillos, tapirs, brocket deer, coatis, kinkajous, otters, pacas, and peccaries, and a troop of howler monkeys. Lots of birds can be seen while hiking in this beautiful wildlife refuge. Your licensed guide will show and describe many of the plants and trees and the uses the Maya made of them and will help you spot the birds, insects, and animals resident in the Jaguar Preserve.
Hiking paths range from easy to strenuous. A typical tour is an easy hike along the River Walk trail to learn about the plants and trees and the uses the Maya made of them and look for the birds, insects, and animals resident in the Jaguar Preserve. After lunch, enjoy river tubing and take a 20-minute hike to swim in the cool pool below the waterfall.
For those looking for more of a workout, climb to Ben’s Bluff where you can enjoy the panorama with Mount Victoria and Outlier and then take a swim beneath the waterfall on the way back. Tiger Fern is another good workout taking about an hour to get to the peak, and then another hour to hike down the other side and then up to another waterfall. There are lots of other trails to explore depending on your interest and fitness level.
Check out the plane that’s a short hike off the road and read the amazing story of how it came to be there.
The tour leaves Placencia at 08:00 am and returns at around 4:30 pm.
Wear sturdy shoes, long-sleeved shirt, and long pants for hiking, and bring water shoes and a swimsuit for the river tubing. Bring a camera, insect repellent, sunscreen, and plenty of water. Birders should bring binoculars as the Jaguar preserve rain forest is quite dense. Bringing a change of clothing is recommended as you are likely to work up a good sweat.
Fitness level required: low to strenuous, depending upon the specific trail to be explored.
For those who are interested, we can also arrange a night tour of the preserve or even overnight in the Cockscomb Jaguar Preserve. More animals are seen in the evening or early morning than during the day. It is highly recommended that no more than 4 persons with one guide do the night tour so that better silence can be achieved and you can be close enough to hear your licensed guide’s whispers. Better yet is two persons with one guide.
Background and History
The Cockscomb Wildlife Sanctuary and Jaguar Preserve is the world’s largest Jaguar Reserve, established in 1986. Dr. Alan Rabinowitz came to Belize to study jaguars in the early 80s and after doing an overview study of Belize, settled into a lumber camp in the Cockscomb basin. As a result of his studies and his determination to protect these magnificent animals, he convinced the Government of Belize to establish the preserve. The logging camp was removed and the Maya Indians moved to Maya Center with the understanding that the economic benefits from eco-tourism would be greater than the status quo. The Belize Audubon Society now manages the Preserve and most of the rangers and workers are Mayans.
With time, the Jaguar Preserve has been expanded and now covers about 400 square kilometres (150 sq mi). The Preserve now connects through the Maya Mountains to the Bladen Nature Reserve which results in a protected area of about 250 000 acres! Jaguar monitoring continues to this day, although much of the data gathering is done using motion detector-operated cameras (you may get your picture taken if you trigger one of these).
Cockscomb has a very extensive trail network with enough variations in terrain and length to suit a wide range of hikers and naturalists. Victoria Peak is the second-highest peak in Belize but due to its location and terrain is considered the mountain to climb in Belize. Outlier is also a challenging climb with great panoramas. Both mountains can only be climbed during the dry season.