Castle of San Felipe
San Felipe de Lara Castle, a monument currently managed by the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (INGUAT), is a representative sample of Río Dulce National Park's colonial era. It is located on the outlet of Lake Izabal, which was known as Golfo Dulce (Lake Izabal-Río Dulce system) in the Hispanic period and was built in 1652, in honor of King Philip II of Spain.
TOUR DESCRIPTION:
The fort of San Felipe of Lara, locally called The Castle; it's to 1 km. river up of the bridge of Fronteras, In the point where the Rio Dulce is born as a result of the water-drainage of the Izabal Lake.
The castle Was constructed there by the Spaniards, to prevent the English Pirates to invade the villages, and to attack the Boats throughout the coasts of Izabal Lake. It's located on a rocky point that gives a good field of fire, although only it was A partial successful against the audacious pirates. The pirates destroyed the castle in successive occasions and on 1686 they captured it and they burned it. Whenever that it was Reconstructed, by a different engineer, it was done stronger than before.
The version that remains today has heavy walls tremendously. In a while the Spaniards were so far with respect to the pirates who tended a chain through the river in an attempt to deny the access To them. When finalizing the century 17th. And the disappearance of the pirates, it was transformed into a prison.
At the Present time it has recovered faithfully and it's a perfect park for picnics. There is a wharf so that the boats unload The passengers. To anchor directly in the front of the castle it's prohibited.
INFORMATION | |
Duración: | 5 1/2 Hours |
Includes: | Roundtrip transportation the puerto , tour guide, entrance. |
Do no include: | Food, Drinks. |
What´s to bring: | Camera, hiking shoes, suntan lotion and hat |
Private Price: | We offer the possibility to make this tour PRIVATE (Boat & Guide) for an additional fee of 20% of the regular rate and with a minimum of 8 participants. |
Operational Notes
- Complementary soft drinks or bottled water are served during the tour.
- Round trip transport between the ship and attractions.
- The meeting point is inside the pier. Happy Fish Travel have a special permission. Our guides are located close to the main gangway, just behind the security stand (scanner).
- Our guides will be at pier with a sign and the name of the tour on it.
- This tour has been designated an adventure tour.
- All tour guides are bi-lingual English – Spanish. For other languages please make the request in advance.
- During this tour, in some places there is no shade, pax should bring sunscream, a hat, sunglases, etc.
- During the rainy season, Sep- Nov, pax should expect some rain. Pax should bring a raincoat.
- Happy Fish Travel suggests pax to bring mosquito spray for beach and rain forest tours.
- Boats and tour guide are equipped with First-Aid Kit in case of accidents.
- Pax should wear comfortable shoes.
- Pax should be advised to bring a backpack to store cameras, film, sunscream and any other belongings for easy travel.
This tour is designed for active people that enjoy exercise and the great outdoors.
Tour Timing
- 90 b
- 30 minutes for enjoy the snack of tropical fruits and visit the souvenir store.
- 60 minutes for enjoy the River Break.
- 30 minutes for change clothing.
- 30 minutes for the drive back to the pier.