Insight Guides Central America (Travel Guide eBook)

Insight Guides

Description

All you need to inspire every step of your journey.
An in-depth book, now with free app and eBook.
From deciding when to go, to choosing what to see when youarrive, this Insight Guides book is allyou need to plan your trip and experience the best of Central America, within-depth insider information on must-see, top attractions like the Riviera Mayaand hidden cultural gems like diving in Belize.
· Insight Guide Central America is idealfor travellers seeking immersive cultural experiences, from exploring ManuelAntonio National Park, to discovering Lake Arenal
· In-depth onhistory and culture: enjoy special features on the European Conquest andtraditional crafts, all written by local experts
· Includesinnovative, unique extras to keep youup-to-date when you're on the move - this guide comes with a free eBook, and anapp that highlights top attractions and regional information and is regularlyupdated with new hotel, bar, restaurant, shop and local event listings
· Invaluablemaps, travel tips and practical information ensure effortless planning, andencourage venturing off the beaten track
· Inspirationalcolour photography throughout - Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colourguide books
· Inventive design makesfor an engaging, easy reading experience
About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer offull-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishinghigh-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. Weproduce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrasebooks, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs.Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus onhistory and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool toinspire your next adventure.

Informations

• Publié par: Apa Publications
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781786718389
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 8 Mo

Extrait

How To Use This E-Book

Getting around the e-book
This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to Central America, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editor’s Choice categories of activities and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in Central America. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, activities from culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights in Central America are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
You’ll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Central America. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.
About Insight Guides
Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.
Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.
© 2017 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd




Table of Contents
Central America’s Top 10 Attractions
Editor’s Choice
Introduction: A Region of Fire and Forest
Land and Environment
Decisive Dates
Early History
Insight: Tikal
European Conquest
Independence
Modern History
People
Religion
Arts, Music, and Dance
Insight: Crafts
Adventure Sports and Activities
Introduction: Places
Introduction: The Mayan Region
Southern Mexico
Guatemala
Belize
Insight: Ecotourism in Belize
Introduction: The Central Region
El Salvador
Honduras
Insight: Weird and Wonderful Wildlife
Nicaragua
Introduction: Southern Central America
Costa Rica
Insight: Mountains of Fire
Panama
Overview
Southern Mexico
Guatemala
Belize
El Salvador
Honduras
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
Language


Central America’s Top 10 Attractions

From Mayan ruins and colonial towns to rainforests and the Meso American reef, discover Central America’s top attractions.



Top Attraction 1



The Riviera Maya. From Cancun’s resort lined hotel strip to Tulum’s eco-chic vibe, some of the world’s finest, softest white-sand beaches are found here, providing the setting for Mexico’s biggest tourist region. For more information, click here .
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Top Attraction 2



Chichén Itzá. Declared one of the ‘New Seven Wonders of the World,’ this great Maya city is intensely dramatic in both style and scale. For more information, click here .
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Top Attraction 3



Osa Peninsula. Wilderness, wildlife, and adventure: everything the eco-minded traveler comes to Costa Rica to find is here, located in the remotest part of the southern Pacific region with its legendary biodiversity. For more information, click here .
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Top Attraction 4



Diving in Belize. Part of the Mesa American reef, the world’s second largest stretch of coral provides countless opportunities for diving and snorkeling, such as the famous Blue Hole and the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. For more information, click here .
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Top Attraction 5



Arenal Volcano. Picture-perfect, cone-shaped Arenal stands out as the quintessential volcano. Although it is temporarily dormant on the outside, it still supplies the geo-thermal power on the inside to heat the ever-popular hot springs. For more information, click here .
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Top Attraction 6



Tikal. Soaring above jungle canopy, the colossal temple-pyramids of this once powerful Maya city, which dates to the 4th century BC, seem built to an unearthly scale. For more information, click here .
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Top Attraction 7



Lake Atitlán. This exquisite highland lake in a giant caldera (collapsed volcano) in Guatemala’s Sierra Madre is lined by laid-back towns and Maya villages with distinctive customs and shrines. For more information, click here .
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Top Attraction 8



Ometepe Island. Two volcanoes, Concepción and Maderas, connected by a low isthmus, form Lake Nicaragua’s largest island, which is marked with wide beaches, petroglyphs, and rich farmland. For more information, click here .
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Top Attraction 9



Panama Canal. Cutting between the Atlantic and the Pacific, this recently expanded canal is one of the world’s most strategic waterways and a marvel of modern engineering. For more information, click here .
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Top Attraction 10



Joya de Cerén. Covered in volcanic ash and not discovered until 1976, this village in El Salvador – still being unearthed – is a Mayan Pompeii, revealing what life was like in the 6th century. For more information, click here .
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Editor’s Choice

Indigenous markets in mountain villages, paradisiacal beaches with swaying palm trees, and hikes to active volcanoes are among our recommendations for a Central American adventure.



Best wildlife watching

Tortuguero National Park . With a sharp-eyed guide, you’ll see myriad birds, mammals, and reptiles in this labyrinth of natural jungle canals. For more information, click here .
Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. One of the best-preserved, most pristine expanses of rainforest in the Americas, Belize’s most important reserve is a refuge for jaguars, ocelots, and many species of birds. For more information, click here .
Pico Bonito National Park. Taking in both low lying tropical rainforest and mountainous cloud forest, Honduras’ most impressive national park offers sublime birding, hiking, and whitewater rafting. For more information, click here .
Manuel Antonio National Park. Small but exquisite, this park packs a wealth of monkeys and birds into a compact jungle edged by three long arcs of white-sand beach. No wonder it’s the most popular national park in Costa Rica. For more information, click here .
Golfo de Chiriquí. This marine reserve on Panama’s Pacific Coast is the meeting point for humpback whales migrating from both Alaska and South America. For more information, click here .



Plumed basilisk lizard, Tortuguero National Park.
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Best beaches

Nosara. Two Costa Rican beaches side by side, Playas Pelada and Guiones offer surfing, swimming, spectacular Pacific sunsets, and yoga on the beach. For more information, click here .
Playa El Tunco. A quick jaunt from San Salvador, this black sand beach is basecamp for famed nearby surf spots like El Sunzal and Punta Roca. For more information, click here .
West Bay. Though it gets busy when cruise ships come to Roatán, the calm, clear waters make West Bay the most perfect beach in the Bay Islands. For more information, click here .
Tulum. It may have gone jet set, but this former hippie outpost still has the white powdery sands backed by thick jungle that continues to enchant. For more information, click here .
San Juan del Sur. A crescent-shaped bay on Nicaragua’s Pacific is home to this mellow expat town with surf shacks, thatched-roof bars, and sail boats. For more information, click here .
Playa Venao. This remote beach on Panama’s Azuero peninsula has seen a surge of new hotels, restaurants, and yoga retreats, making staying here as cushy as Panama City. For more information, click here .
Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. There are rastas peddling bicycles and sloths in trees in this laid back surf town near the Salsa Brava, on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. For more information, click here .
Kuna Yala (San Blas) Islands, Panama. Nearly 400 postcard perfect isles in the Caribbean