Authentic Ecotourism in Leon - "Los Altos de Ocotal - El Sauce"

[Kellan]

I highly recommend visiting this community initiated ecotourism business. It's a small cooperative of coffee farmers nestled up in the mountains 80 miles from Leon, just outside of the small city of El Sauce. They offer horse back riding, host family stays, various tours including organic coffee farm tours, and great views of Leon and it's Volcanoes, Honduras, Lake Managua, and Esteli.

The idea is to teach you about their lifestyle, while conserving the environment. The small center/restaurant that they build runs off solar panels, so it can still serve you cold drinks, even though you feel like you're miles away from civilization.    

The great thing about it that it's new, so the community still treats every tourist like family. I occasionally work in the mountain with them and they still ask me about tourists who came months ago. It's cute how they care so much about their visitors.

It really is a unique experience. Totally off the beaten path.  

Check it out!!!

[Joshua Berman]

Sounds fantastic, Kellan, thank you! Do you have any contact details or price information about this program?

[Kellan]

To get to "Los Altos de Ocotal", you need to first go to El Sauce. Buses leave for El Sauce from Leon, Esteli, and Managua. Then you can take a truck/bus that leaves for the mountain at 2:00 pm every day. Private rides are also available or you can go if you have own truck (4x4 only). The cooperative will be putting up signs giving directions and distances going up along the roads from Leon to El Sauce with in a month or so.

The prices are as follows:

• Overnight stay with a host family - $6 per person
• Meals with host families - $1.75-$2.50 per person
• Tours (coffee farm, Pine needle basket making, tortilla, sugar cane processing, etc) - $1.25-$2.50 per person
• Horses - $7 a day/$5 half day
• Guides - $6-$8 a day
• Meals in the restaurant/center - $1.50-$3.50

Reservations or a heads up notice is highly recommended. The email address is altos.de.ocotal@gmail.com (either English or Spanish).