Plants & Wildlife of Belize

Belize has designated nearly half of its land as protected areas, and wildlife enthusiasts will be amazed by the unique and rare tropical creatures that live here: puma, jaguar, ocelot, gray fox, howler monkey, Central American spider monkey, tapir, peccary, red brocket and white-tailed deer, agouti, paca, Mexican porcupine, scarlet macaw, jabiru stork, toucan, ocellated turkey, harpey eagle and many others. In addition to animals, Belize is home to over 4,000 species of plants, including over 250 types of orchids.

Cotton Tree Lodge is located in the Toledo District, the most sparsely settled region of Belize, boasting miles of unspoiled coastal mangroves, tropical broadleaf forests, wetlands, and river ecosystems. Protected areas in Toledo include the Sarstoon-Temash National Park, the Columbia Forest Reserve, Bladen River Nature Reserve and The Rio Blanco Waterfall Park.The Temash, Sarstoon, Moho, and Rio Grande rivers all flow through this district and to the Caribbean.

The trips in this section will introduce you to some of the unique flora and fauna of the Toledo District and surrounding areas.Learn about medicinal plants, walk the boardwalk at Aguacaliente, or travel to Red Bank to see endangered Scarlet Macaws, all with local guides who enjoy sharing their knowledge with you.Right at the lodge there are plenty of wild creatures living in the old growth rainforest. Using a field guide and your senses, you will see a wide variety of birds around the property, iguanas along the river bank, and maybe spot our howler monkeys.You will hear them for sure.