Howler Monkey Nature Park

After four years of working and living on our 20 acre riverine jungle in the Belize River Valley, we decided to make a conscious effort to conserve our small piece of green paradise and the natural habitat of the Black Howler Monkey, the threaten and endangered Alouatta Pigra; with which our property was bestowed. Howler Monkey Nature Park was legally registered on the 28th February, 2002 by us,without any fanfare. This private, conscious conservation would now provide us with a place to live, go birding, and nature watch... A way of life!

Ever since it's inception of our Nature Park we have been sharing our jungle home with visitors staying with us. They enjoy the area to do birding, forest bathe, look for monkeys that are undisturbed in the wilderness, or simply relax and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the river.

At our Nature Park you can go on a nature walk in our short nature trails to observe the native flora and fauna of the area or go swimming in our river-water swimming pool.

The Monkey Jungle's Battle for Sunlight:

In the past, many acres of our property had been pretty much clear cut for logging and/or cattle herding. It is our humble opinion, that it's due to this human interference, that has allowed the very nasty and invasive specie, the Spiny Bamboo or Guadua Longifolia, to take over in these areas and has made it probably the most common specie in Bermudian Landing Village. After several years of observation we found that once this bamboo has taken hold it doesn't allow any other specie to grow, halting the jungle's capacity of re-wilding/rejuvenating itself.

We, not only as cohabiters, but also as the protectors and custodians of our Howler Monkey Nature Park wanted to try to undo this previous human interference by embarking on a Re-Wilding Project, where we would manually and laboriously cut the spiny bamboo and hold it at bay long enough for the jungle to re-wild itself naturally. After several years, we have found, that the jungle naturally controls the Guadua Longifolia as long as the other trees controls the sunlight of the canopy.

Since we started this project, we have found that the monkeys seem to be happy with the results as they have been expanding their territory as the years go by. We also, now often see agoutis, Tyra, white nose coatimundi, kinkajou, bats, iguanas, butterflies, and a wide variety of birds to name a few. But the specie that has us longing to see them, are the shy tapirs that only leave their hoof prints and other gifts just to tantalize us; but, that's okay, they are happy and free.

Howler Monkey Resort & Nature Park's ecotourism policies:

• 🌿 We try our best to find that Elusive Balance among protecting nature, our guests comfort, and our needs...Nature is indeed a luxury!

• 🌿 Here, we practice observing wildlife from a safe distance i.e. NATURE WATCHING. A binoculars is a must to bring along! FYI In 1982, The Government of Belize made it illegal to feed, molest (e.g. forcing monkeys to howl or touching them), take as pets or hunt any of Belize's wildlife by enacting the THE WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT.
• 🌿 We believe in keeping it small. For us, 10 cabins or less is the maximum quantity of cabins to remain sustainable on 20 acres of riparian forest.
• 🌿 We only take individuals, couples or very small groups/families out on our private adventures at any one time thereby minimizing our impact on Belize's beautiful destinations and wildlife.
• 🌿 We try to be good ambassadors of Belize and try to share our local perspective with our guests. Hopefully, our guests leave with a better insight of Belize and nature.
• 🌿 Please BYOB Bring your own bottle! Please help us with our fight against styrofoam (lunch) containers & Plastics i.e.: bottles, plates, straws, bags, etc. they are not recycled in Belize
• 🌿 Our main recycling method is: NOT CREATE GARBAGE IN THE FIRST PLACE, Then REUSE, REUSE and REUSE!
• 🌿 Encourage our guests to unplug and enjoy nature watching.
• 🌿 Our local meals are made using fresh ingredients from the villagers and surrounding area as part of our cultural heritage but does not include game meat delicacies such as Iguana, Gibnut, or hicatee (the Central American river turtle). they are getting harder and harder to find.
• 🌿 We love when our property is loaded with mommy iguanas seeking to lay their eggs. We make it our job to ensure it happens undisturbed.

• 🌿 In 2016 we upgraded from our old walkway to an elevated eco-friendly boardwalk in an effort to minimize our impact on the land and allow water to flow unobstructed during heavy rainfall such as during hurricanes. An unexpected benefit is that little critters such as the Agouti and nine banded Armadillo love to hide under it.
• 🌿We try to keep it natural and native as much as possible, this allows nature to bless us with her bounty of beautiful wild orchids and other epiphytes that many times prove to be the natural food of the howler monkeys and other wildlife. This also allows our grounds to retain its natural beauty with minimal human influence and zero fertilizers nor pesticides.
• 🌿 Our Cabins are virtually pest free, we depend as much as possible on nature's pest control: bats, dragonflies, birds, geckos, etc to do their jobs. This has allowed us the privilege of not using pesticides 99% of the time. But, an open mind and your spirit of adventure are a must.
• 🌿 We have donated a (14 feet by 20 feet) home to our thousands of bats to get a good day's rest.
• 🌿 Our swimming pool is not your normal swimming pool it is filled regularly with natural river water hence it tends to have sediment just like the river. However, we do sanitize it and it is safe to swim in.

Listen to our Howler Monkeys Howl

Howler Monkey Nature Park is our slice of GREEN Paradise!