At Copal Tree Lodge among toucans, cocoa plantations, waterfalls

The most pleasant risk is to be awakened early in the morning by toucans, particularly vivid howler monkeys, or crossing iguanas on the path to the breakfast palapa. But it is worth the effort because staying at Copal Tree Lodge in Punta Gorda means another immersion, this time into Belize's nature and agricultural tradition. In the fields grow sugar cane, that cacao pride of the entire nation, orchards, together with sustainably reared livestock: the cacao nursery, in particular, is home to thousands of grafted plants, carefully cultivated before being transplanted into the undergrowth of the jungle surrounding the lodge, as well as aromatic spices such as cardamom, nutmeg and vanilla. At the Jungle spa, one can indulge in treatments surrounded by the lush rainforest, as well as ride through the trees to the San Antonio Falls where one can take one last photograph before departing.