Located close to Punta Gorda in Toledo, southern Belize, Tanager Rainforest Lodge is the district's premier inland resort. Offering not only elegant accommodation, fine food and drink, the lodge will introduce you to eco-tours of the local Mayan people and culture through easy access to the natural wonder and archaeological history of the area. Being a small, family-run lodge, six thatched cottage-style cabanas are suitable for either single or family accommodations. Each cabana has a queen-size double and either an extra single bed or full-size bunks. The Lodge also has a full-service restaurant and bar. Lodge meals offer a range of local and international dishes, with vegetarian, vegan, kashrut, and children's alternatives. The lodge is also a licensed tour operator offering a wide range of tours and activities within its packages and all of them include a mix of natural history as well as cultural encounters with local people.
Our cultural tours offer authentic experiences of the Mayan and Garifuna cultures and Mayan archaeology. Toledo is the center of cacao (cocoa) production with most of its product being exported for manufacture as Green & Blacks Maya Gold organic chocolate, the first Fairtrade product in the UK in 1994. Ixcacao is a local Mayan chocolatier. Our full-day trips can combine two or three different tours in a day.
The Living Mayan Experience
The Living Maya Experience in Big Falls consists of two interactive cultural home visits that offer guests a fascinating glimpse into a fast-disappearing world in which the local Kek’chi Maya depended upon the forest and found everything in it to satisfy their needs from food to furniture to medicine. The Cal family showcases a Mayan home as it would have been fifty years ago and guests help prepare and share a vegetarian meal with the family Chocolate Making Mayan Chocolate
Chocolate Making Mayan Chocolate is the only Maya chocolatier in Toledo and one of only two in Belize. Visits include a tour of the cacao grove and a demonstration of and a chance to practice basic chocolate making. If you visit at lunchtime they offer meals that include their own delicious mole sauce. Vegetarians are catered for. Local Market
A morning trip to Punta Gorda on the market day gives guests the opportunity to experience the fruit, vegetable and fish markets. You will see an array of seasonal fruit and vegetables and can watch the fishermen unloading their catch and buying fresh from the traders. Cotton Tree chocolate factory offers free tours around their small production facility. Guatemalan traders offer handicrafts and the Fajina women’s cooperative displays locally made Mayan crafts. Nim Li Punit Maya Site
Nim Li Punit visitor center houses the finest collection of Mayan stelae in Belize. These recount the history of war and conquest in the area. It sits atop a hill with views over the coastal forest all the way to the cayes of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. Lubaantun Maya Site
Lubaantun is a Late Classic site flourishing between 700-900 AD. Lubaantun is most famous for the discovery of the Crystal Skull there in 1924, for its distinctive masonry techniques and its clay whistles (ocarinas) Warasa Garifuna Drum School
Ronald Ray McDonald provides interactive lessons in traditional Garifuna drumming, dancing, drum making and culture.
Birding and Monkey Watching - Over 200 bird species can be found on site and transportation is available to go offsite to see birds such as the Scarlet Macaw only 40 minutes away.
. Bird Watching
Spend a day with our local birding expert Steven Choco, a vastly experienced, knowledgeable and skilled birding guide. There are varied habitats to explore from high forest and swamp lands to savannah grasslands and coastal forest and mangroves. Monkey River
Explore the banks of the meandering Monkey River and see basking crocodiles, turtles and an abundance of birds. Then visit the Howler monkey sanctuary managed by the tour guides of Monkey River. Manatee Watching
Combine a day on Monkey River with a trip northwards from the river mouth. Traveling slowly through the beds of turtle grass and coastal mangroves our guests can encounter manatees curious to see their strange human visitors.
Water Activities
The Snake or Sapodilla Cayes
Snorkeling, swimming and fishing, manatee and dolphin watching in the turquoise waters around the southern cayes. A great marine adventure. Kayak the Rio Grande
A three to four-hour float downstream from San Miguel village in our Hobie sit-on-top kayaks ending at the lodge itself. See iguanas, coatimundi, neo-tropical river otters, white-tailed deer and many species of heron, kingfisher, raptors and other birds. Rio Blanco National Park
Rio Blanco National Park is a small community-managed national park and includes a two-mile forest hike as well as the opportunity to jump from the rock cliff into the deep pool below the waterfall. We stop here for a picnic lunch and a swim. River Tubing
Relax on a Jungle river while passing by Monkeys, Parrots, and Iguana's beautiful trees and scenery. Swimming Pool
On site, a swimming pool is maintained year-round for your leisure and relaxation after a long day of adventure.
Rides and Hikes
Horse and Mule Rides
The lodge cares for Horses and Mules for on and off-site rides. Rides go through Rainforests, along River banks, and edges of a Mayan village. Buggy rides can be arranged for groups that are not able to get on a mule or horse. Truly a unique Buggy ride. Hiking
Toledo is a hiker's paradise. We offer guided hikes from Blue Creek village along the river to nearby caves for adventure. For more experienced hikers, we offer guided hikes to Cockscomb national park.
We are located in a Rainforest - So it rains, but normally at night or in the morning before clearing up. For the days that it rains so much to cancel a trip, we offer Books for Reading on your own hammock or by the river, and Massages when available from a local masseuse. Board games for kids, Swimming pool relaxation, Horseshoes, Frisbee and Fishing off the river bank.
I could not be happier with my Adventure Life experience, from beginning to end. I travel a lot, and I think your company and personnel do an outstanding job. I truly appreciate your professionalism, attentiveness, and flexibility. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend your company and would be happy to serve as a reference.
Constance Block
TrustScore 4.8 | 174 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 174 reviews on
1 day ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
2 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.