reserva natural miraflor

From town it takes about 2 hours to get to the middle area. The road is unpaved and very bumpy. I stayed with a family there and went by horseback the next day to the humid area. It is really beautiful and interesting to see the families that live and work here. The bus early in the morning was very entertaining! It took almost 2 1/2 hours as it went a different way.

I really enjoyed Miraflor! In the span of a 3 hour hike, I went through farmland with small communities, oak and pine forests then a cloud forest where moss covers everyhing. The diversty in such a small walk was totally worth it. I booked a guide and homestay through Treehuggers so I was welcomed by a guide upon arriving at La Pita which was worth it, since you often go through farmers land and I wouldn't have known the way otherwise. We didn't see that many birds as much as we heard them, and the cloud forest was a definite highlight! Afterwards, we hiked to a small waterfall where we went for a quick dip: it really was beautiful.

Booked through treehuggers late one day and the next morning we were waiting of the local bus at 5 am in the dark. Dropped off in what seemed like the middle of nowhere and then our guide just appeared (after walking 15 km from his home that morning). We walked for 5 hours to our homestay where we were given the most fabulous meal (all vegatarian as one of us requeested it) and were welcomed into this extended families life. Got to help in the kitchen, with the cows, pick coffee etc which was all fun not work. The warmth of these people was beyond belief (famillia Perez). The next day we walked 3 hours to have lunch with another family, then a 1 hour walk to catch the bus (2 hours) back to Esteli. Lots of mud, very basic accomadattion (no electicity, running water etc.) but now I have a family in Nicaragua. Treehuggers is a very together operation and everything worked perfectly at a very reasonable price. Just do it!

We arranged a day trip to Miraflor through Treehuggers and really enjoyed it. We arranged for a guide and a driver (there were four of us). Great stories from Ariel the driver (in Spanish) and Arielka the guide (in English and Spanish). We had an easy hike in the cloud forest, had an interesting tour of the low tech coffee operation, had lunch prepared at a little family owned hospedaje, and stuck our toe in the water at a waterfall.

Miraflor is amazing and we enjoyed the trip. We booked it via Treehuggers. Our guide was named Juan del Dios. I would like to warn you. Do not take him. You book a whole day to hike but the main goal of him is to just work half a day. so in the end to reach his goal he is also lying about the time when the last buses go back. So the landscape ist wonderful but the tour guide was really bad and we can not recommend it. I reported my experiance to Treehuggers personally and per email. but they did not care. Until today I got no answer. So that's the reason for the bad evaluation, the landscape Miraflor would definitely got five stars!

It is beautiful out there, its worth exploring. Take a local guide or you won't see everything you should.

"Treehuggers" arranged a one day trip to Miraflores for us. They gave us two vouchers: one for lunch and another for guide. They told us that our guide (Rodolf) does not speak English. We said that is ok. They told us to take 5:45 am bus and our guide will wait for us at the destination bus stop. We asked them whether our guide would hold a paper with our names. They said yes. When we got off at our destination bus stop (Coyolito?)at 6:45am, there was nobody waiting for us. We were in the middle of nowhere. We waited 20 mins, but he did not show up. We showed our voucher to passing by local residents. They said Rodolf lives in this village. So, we waited another 20 min. He still did not show up. We showed our vouchers to another passing by local resident. He knew Rodolf and called him. Rodolf did not answer the phone. Kindly, he led us to the restaurant where we are supposed to have lunch. The restaurant owner called Rodolf and told us he has a problem and cannot come! She called another guide and he will come here. But he lives in another town and needs to take a bus to come here. He will be here at 8:15 am. At 8:30 am, the second guide did not show up. We were tied for waiting and got mad. We asked her to call "Treehuggers". She reluctantly called them, explained the situation and handed over the phone to me. When I said "hello", he hung up on me! We asked the restaurant owner for our lunchvoucher back and told her that we will go back to Esteli. Bus runs only three times per day in this route. If we miss the 9:00 am bus, we have to wait until 3:00 pm for going back to Esteli. Restaurant owner now told us our second guide will come here with 9:0 am bus. The Esteli bus arrived at 9:00 am and our second guide was in the bus. We waited for over two hours for our guide. If we did not meet the kindly passing by local resident, we would wait for Rodolf in the middle of nowhere whole day. Terrible experience with "Treehuggers".

Miraflor is the perfect place for travellers who value cultural experiences and love to explore nature. We stayed two nights with Orlando and Dajanita and their family in La Labranza. We spent two days walking with a guide and saw so much of the very diverse and beautiful Miraflor. I would recommend two full days minimum. We walked by many other fincas and they all looked like quaint places to stay so I don't think you can go wrong no matter where you stay. We booked through Treehuggers in Esteli. We didn't arrange anything before hand, just went in there the day before we wanted to go, told them how much time we had and they made all of the arrangements. Miraflor was a highlight of our trip.

Much of the cloud forest is, sadly, gone. This was a long trip to see about 1/2 square mile of the way things used to be.

Wonderful environment! I only visited for the day and wish I'd remained a couple of evenings. Must do for visitors who enjoy the outdoors and nature

We booked our tour with treehuggers.Stayed with Lorena in Bella Vista. Great family good food. We had a tour with a guided tour on horses. For 5 hours the guide showed us the area; great views, waterfalls and nature.Unique experience!

i stayed for two nights with Orlando and Dejanire and their four lovely children two weeks ago. They are really welcoming hosts,and Dejanire is a great cook. It was wonderful introduction to the nature reserve. The hamlet of La Labranza is accessed on foot or on horseback. If you want to experience life in the raw on the nature reserve there is not better place to stay. If you are looking for western creature comforts this may not be the experience for you. Book through Tree huggers in Esteli, or ring direct as other posters have mentioned below. The family only speaks Spanish.

With the help of our hosts at Finca Lindos Ojos, we enjoyed birds, monkeys and orchids galore on nature walks and horse back rides in the area! We saw incredible vistas and were honored to explore the actual virgin forest of the fog mountains.

I enjoyed taking the local bus to the farmlands in the mountains of Miraflores. I arrived on a Friday afternoon and took a nice walk on the road enjoying the views of mountains and farms. I stayed with a family, arranged in town (Esteli), who cooked three typical Nica meals for me. Saturday, I walked up the long road on my own. Others got a guide which does support local work, however if you are seeking time alone in nature, it is more than fine to go it alone.

Great opportunity to visit a unique place and stay with local families, $20 per person including 3 meals and basic accomodation. Fantastic views and an unforgettable experience!