Canoe the rainforest at Southern Belize’s Machaca Hill Resort

Punta Gorda, Belize, has long been known as a flyfisherman’s paradise, especially for the elusive permit. But visitors to Machaca Hill Lodge will see that this quaint community in Southern Belize is also a great place to paddle a canoe down the Rio Grande.

Machaca Hill is one of the nicest resorts in all of Belize. Set among the rainforest just inland from Punta Gorda, the resort features an outdoor swimming pool, excellent meals, and a variety of day tours to local ruins or out to the beautiful waters of the Caribbean Sea.

But perhaps the easiest, most convenient, and most surprising of the activities at Machaca is the canoeing found right at the base of the resort. Just grab a canoe from the boat house and you can be paddling among Howler monkeys while making casts to resident snook and tarpon in the river.

Downstream seven miles is the Bay of Honduras; upstream is the inland jungles, and back at the lodge is a waiting meal and a tropical drink. www.machacahill.com