From Hopkins you can visit two main national parks – Cockscomb and Mayflower. To be honest, if there is more than one of you traveling, these are probably best visited with a car. This would be easier and cheaper. However, if you are just one person or you want to hike with a group then you can join a tour.
I joined a tour from Hopkins that included transportation, a guide, and a snack. I went to Mayflower to hike to the top of a waterfall. The road to Mayflower is a bit rough, but if you drive slow you will be fine.
It’s still the wet season here, and although it’s not raining very much, there was still quite a bit of water in the waterfall. From here you climb up to the top. It’s a challenging climb, but you are rewarded with good views. My view was in the rain, which made it picturesque. Without rain apparently you can see the coast (you will have to imagine).
From here on you continue just a little bit further up and you are rewarded with a swimming pool.
You can see it was still raining. We all got changed but the rest of my group initially refused to go in! The water is not warm, but it’s not freezing either. After a hike it’s nice and refreshing and you can swim right underneath that waterfall. After I got in the rest of the group slowly joined me.
There are a lot of gigantic trees and flowers along the way and the rainforest has a lot of birds. I am told spotting parrots is easy – but not so much in the rain. There are Jaguars here, but your chance of seeing them – especially in the daytime – is slim.