En el bosque enano
Adventures in Central America feature forests jam-packed full of amazing trees where there’s always something exceptional to discover. Here we show the marvels of a rare, miniature forest found high up in the remote mountains of Honduras.
Every year on expedition, Operation Wallacea documents the incredible biodiversity of the remote mountain forests of Cusuco National Park, Honduras. Whilst surveying snakes, insects and much more, scientists and participants join Canopy Access on a tree climbing adventure like no other for a unique experience in huge pine trees emerging above the thick jungle canopy, with a very lucky few getting the full dawn climb experience.
Summers in the jungle are focused on safely guiding participants on a tree climbing adventure. On days off we head into the forest on surveys with the scientists or hike out to remote satellite camps deep in the jungle, all facilitated by the amazing forest guides who keep us safe in these unforgiving wild places. And far from basecamp, high on the highest of the mountain ridges, it’s there you can find the near mythical landscape that everyone talks about, Cusuco National Park’s elfin dwarf forests. But before we head out there on the trail, let’s chat about getting there and elevation.
The journey goes like this. We fly in to San Pedro Sula at 35+°C in the blazing sunshine. Bumping uphill on trucks for a few hours via the outlying town takes us into the thickly forested core zone of the park. You enter a world of towering pines and 20m tree ferns before reaching Basecamp at around 1500m above sea level, where it’s very pleasant, and often cool and wet. Several hours hiking from there takes you yet higher still to passes over the ridges at around 2000m. Even higher still, way up on the ridge summits, it is there you can find the miniature forests. Known locally as bosque enano or elfin dwarf forest, they are so very different from the rest of the forest. Ok, so on with our hike…
We’re deep in Cusuco National Park, Honduras. Antonia, Simona, Megan and I have been walking for several hours now, crossing rivers through dense forest dripping with epiphytes and walking steadily uphill. At the pass we strike off the path onto a small trail climbing more steeply through big pines. Antonio our amazing guide knows this place like the back of his hand and takes the trail effortlessly. Not us! We’re sweating and puffing away at the effort, busy focussing on the ground and trying hard not to stumble, as we scramble over roots, clamber up banks and duck under thin limbs straddling the way ahead. Then I look up and notice that everything has changed.
Everywhere is dense thickets and we’re surrounded by sprawling tangles of roots with overhanging plants and stems criss-crossing around us. The canopy above us has shrunk from over forty metres down to barely over the height of a person and everything is layered with bromeliads and ferns. Like some kind of initiation, the way ahead involves belly crawling though earthy tunnels that sure look like perfect hiding spots for giant spiders and snakes. And you twitch whenever a bit of dirt slips down the back of your neck, just in case it has legs and starts to move!
A crack of thunder overhead comes out of nowhere and the first gentle rain drops quickly turn into a downpour. Flapping about with flimsy ponchos we help cover backpacks (really hard to do yourself!) and carry on. Rain here is the lifeblood of the forest and it’s not really cold, as long as you keep moving. We laugh and joke in the deluge, feeling the elements touch us, making our visit this special place even more memorable. Fifteen minutes more of slip-sliding and we’re here.
Below is one of my favourite photos of the expedition, with guide Antonio and tree expert Simona laughing in the rain at the sheer joy of sharing a wonderful place with friends and, as often is the case, a whole lot of weather!
Surrounding us on all sides is this unique thicket of tiny trees. Either side of the path atop our knife-edge ridge, the vegetation is so thick it’s virtually impenetrable. Our only way forward is the tiny trail, winding across the ridge between hundreds of stripy bromeliads, ferns and bamboo. In between them, the springy, nutrient-poor soil is thin and peaty. In places it’s covered with a rich carpet of mosses and other specialists plants.
One plant that grows in clumps there is a pale grey lichen we in the UK know as reindeer moss, a plant that also lives high in the mountains of Scotland, so that was a surprise! Tiny, fragile orchids cling on the thicker stems and everywhere are specialised plants with waxy tough cuticles which have evolved to cope with water loss in these extreme locations. This is the globally rare habitat known as the elfin or dwarf forest of Cusuco National Park.
Mists cling to the mountains. Occasionally it drifts and we get glimpses of mile after mile of jungle-covered ridges. Further off, way to the east beyond the park’s core zone, the mountains are mostly cleared for agriculture and settlements. Under our noses, big bees, little blue butterflies and all kinds of flies flit around the canopy. A flash of colour and a hummingbird darts in to feed on the bright red flowers inches from us, pure magic.
But we must get back before dark which comes early in the tropics so, with a last look around and a few dozen more photos, we turn around and head back down into the big forest. We chat all the way back, Antonio and Simona in Spanish, Megan and I in English, sharing stories all the way back to camp. What a great day. It was fun in rain and so good to see a new bit of the forest biome.
