This Dreamy Central American Nature Preserve Is in a Cloud Forest—and It’s Just 10 Minutes From the Beach

With one arm wrapped tightly around my 3-year-old daughter and the other gripping the dashboard rail, I braced myself as we navigated hairpin turns and ascents. But the wild ride was part of the magic. Overhead, territorial howler monkeys announced our presence, toucans flashed in and out of the canopy, and the electric hum of cicadas filled the air. Every so often, our guide would spot something—a sloth curled into a high-up branch, or a baby howler trailing its mother—and we’d hop out to follow his laser pointer through the trees, briefly trading thrills for quiet awe.

It may be a cliché to say that travel isn’t always about the destination, but the journey—however, at Parque de Aventura Las Nubes in Nicaragua, it really is. After boarding an open-air, all-terrain vehicle, I was driven through a tropical forest to the top of a mountain on a narrow, improbably steep road with Gustavo Adolfo Morice, both my guide and the park’s owner, in tow.

I’d seen sloths before but only at a tourist attraction where they were caught, caged, and put on display. That sort of thing wouldn’t fly at Parque de Aventura Las Nubes, which is located just outside the surf village of San Juan del Sur in southwestern Nicaragua. Here, the animals roam freely.

The only reason visitors like me catch a glimpse at all is because the preserve sits within a natural migratory corridor. Plus, the guides know the rhythms of the forest, where the animals move, when they rest, and how to spot them. In addition to sloths and monkeys, Parque de Aventura is home to wild cats, anteaters, armadillos, and more than 100 species of birds. 

“The private reserve is also located on the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor where most wildlife travel south to north or north to south crossing between South America and North America,” Adolfo Morice said.

The nature reserve is clearly a labor of love for Adolfo Morice. The Nicaraguan native and engineer bought the land with the intent to conserve the tropical forest and its wildlife. He says only 1 percent of the land is used for infrastructure, and the steep mountain road was cut by hand to preserve as many trees as possible. Part of the property was had also been cut at one point to make room for pasture—he planted more than 80,000 trees to restore it back to its natural state.

“Our road to the top of the mountain was hand-made using only pickaxes and shovels,” he said. “It was three times more expensive than using machinery, but we wanted to save all the trees we could.”

At the top of the mountain, in the cloud forest, you’ll find a giant open-air terrace that overlooks the Pacific Coast beaches of San Juan del Sur. A few steps above the terrace is the Continental Divide, and a few steps beyond the Divide is another terrace that looks east, toward twin volcanoes in Lake Nicaragua. 

As a breeze came from the east, I relished it—it was the hottest, driest part of the year, but at 1,800 feet above sea level, everything felt cooler and the landscape was more lush. It felt like another world from the town of San Juan del Sur, just 10 minutes away below us, nestled along a bay between some of Nicaragua’s best surf spots.

While we began a short nature hike, another group took on the “Adrenaline Tour,” which includes access to seven zip lines, a suspended stair bridge, a rappel tower, a “Tarzan” swing, and 10 platforms that provide an aerial view of the tropical forest.

“All our activities are on the top of our mountain, which is the highest point of San Juan del Sur, where you can see at the same point the Pacific Ocean beaches, the Nicaraguan lake, and up to four volcanoes,” Adolfo Morice said.

Whether you’re drawn to the vibrant wildlife (as I was) or the thrill of zipping through a tropical forest alongside monkeys and sloths, there’s no doubt that Parque de Aventura Las Nubes is a special place.

Nature Tours start at $20 a person, while the full Adrenaline Tour is $49. Both can be booked in advance at parqueaventuraslasnubes.com.