Awesome beach, hostal and natural botanic garden with several guided paths through the Chocoan jungle. Excellent food (fresh tuna grilled instantly :) and excellent service. Thanks Luisa!

I had a wonderful guided tour at Jardin Botanico del Pacifico in mid-March. I did a 2-hour tour (just myself and the guide), which was excellently organized and provided a unique experience. I wish I had time to do the full day (6- or 9-hour) tour. I highly recommend visiting the botanic garden if you are in the Bahia Solano area and have even just about 4-hour free time with an okay weather.

I set up the tour on the same day morning on WhatsApp. I could just go at 3pm due to a scuba diving activity but they were very flexible with setting up the tour time. I arrived at Playa Mecana by boat, dropped off after the dives. Playa Mecana is a gorgeous, quite isolated beach. The lady at reception, Luisa, welcomed me with hospitality, she was super kind and helpful. I arrived just in a swimming trunk which was obviously not proper for the tour, but she brought me long sleeved clothes and mosquito repellent, let me take a shower, and offered me coffee. She had perfect English. Antonio, the guide, was the best wildlife guide I ever met. Although he spoke only Spanish and I just know few Spanish words, I understood almost everything using some basic words and sign language only. Antonio was particularly knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about showing any details of the surrounding nature. I appreciated that he was careful with each step on the trail, being careful not to disturb the conservation area along the trail. It is good to have some patience when walking with him, but it pays back as spotting animals often requires time and silence. The 2-hour tour started with a mangrove forest trail, continued with and forest restoration area with secondary rainforest habitat and then we walked about 30-45 min in a primary rainforest as well which had a truly amazing flora including huge trees like the Ceiba and Carrá. We spotted several animals including spider monkeys, sloths (an adult with its baby), various birds, lizards, insects, and a frog. I think the tour actually lasted about 2.5 hours. At the end I got a 10-min boat ride to Bahia Solano. The boat ride was a bit expensive relative to the tour, but kinda understood as I was alone, and it was already around sunset.

I haven’t been to Utria National Park but based on what I heard Jardin might be a deeper and more immersive experience in terms of forests and wildlife as you can access more forest areas (even primary forests) than in Utria during the tour.

Thank you Luisa and Antonio for this unforgettable afternoon!

Thanks to Luisa (who is an outstanding and helpful communicator and expert who also helped me decide my hostels) and guide Antonio, so many dreams of mine came true at Jardin Botanico del Pacifico! For two years, I had wanted to find a Harpy Eagle, but the cost of expensive tours and the dangers of venturing into the Darien Gap kept me from attempting to achieve my dream of seeing the "Jaguar of the Skies." However, at Jardin Botanico, you can see them in a safe and beautiful place without spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars. For 150,000 Colombian pesos (maybe around 35 USD), I got an incredible tour with Antonio, who led me to a Harpy Eagle nest he has followed for nearly a decade. An adult female showed up and truly "knocked my socks off." Add trogons, manakins, woodpeckers, incredible frogs, butterflies, amazing food (included in your ticket) and you are in for a real treat. You will not reg

My wife and I came to Colombia for our honeymoon and were lucky enough to have chosen Mecana Ecohotel as our first stay. We stayed in one of the lodges which is built beautifully. It is very comfy and has a lot of lovely details!
The area is marvelous, nothing but waves and the birds and animals around. We made a guided trip through the jungle, which was absolutely worth it.
The food was absolutely delicious! Fresh tuna in many more ways we could imagine! Muy rico! :)
We knew from the website that it would be a beautiful stay, but to get to know Luisa and her team was the best part of our experience. We felt welcomed and taken care of!
This is a beautiful stay, absolutely worth of visiting. You can feel that they put their whole heart in it!
Thank you again for our lovely stay with you! We hope to come back some time - maybe for our 10th anniversary ;)

Una experiencia maravillosa.
Mi hijo de 6 años y yo vivimos unos dias magicos.
Hermosos paisajes, ballenas, comida vegana espectacular, las personas sonrien y son amables.
Iria mil veces mas.

My stay at Mecana Ecohotel was dreamy. Luisa and all the staff at the hotel went above and beyond my expectations, they were warm,welcoming, and made sure everything was perfect, from the common spaces, to the room and the unbelievably delicious food (even with my vegan diet, which they were able to accommodate flawlessly).
The room was located in a private and amazing bungalow, in which the sounds of the ocean and animals of the jungle served as lullaby.Every detail in the room made this experience memorable, and extremely comfortable and relaxing.
The views and landscape at and around the hotel are breathtaking, and what makes everything more special is that everyone at Jardin botánico del pacífico is always making an effort to continue to preserve the rainforest and sustain nature. If you love hiking this is definitely a must, the biodiversity in this place is incredible and you will definitely enjoy it.

We also went whale watching which was definitely one of the most beautiful experiences I've ever had, Esteban's expertise in marine mamals is amazing!, you will have fun while learning a lot from this incredible beings.

I can't wait to come back to Mecana, this was truly one of the best vacations I've ever had!

We had an amazing retreat where we got to experience majestic humpback whales in their natural habitat, a secluded waterfall, a one-of-a-kind nature hike, a local traditional dance, and much more. In addition to seeing many humpback whales in person, we learned a lot about them from our expert/well-educated scientist/guide and teacher. If you want to see and learn about whales in this region, Esteban is the person to be with. I highly recommend this location and experience. You will be in great hands and want to return.

Pura conexión y belleza, las palabra no hacen justicia a esta mágica experiencia, super recomendada.

El Chocó y sus selvas maravillosas...

Nous sommes allés à Mecana en famille (adultes, ados et grand-mère). Nous ne sommes pas restés à l’éco hôtel du Jardin botanique, mais on a profité des activités offertes et de la délicieuse nourriture.

Nous avons fait l’activité d’observation des baleines et de la visite de la chute. Nous avons eu la chance d’avoir un guide extraordinaire et passionné! Esteban, spécialiste des baleines, a fait de cette expérience une des plus belles de notre vie! Il est clair dans ses explications, charismatique, il s’exprime bien en anglais, il est calme et attentionné. Il a bien su s’adapter aux besoins de notre groupe. Merci encore!

Nous sommes aussi allés faire une randonnée de 2 heures en forêt avec un guide local, Antonio. Malgré le fait qu’il ne parlait qu’espagnol, il arrivait à bien nous faire comprendre ce qu’il voulait nous montrer. On a pu prendre des crabes et même une tarentule!

C’est vraiment un coin à découvrir et les gens sont accueillants.

Simplemente único y genial. Las mejores personas y un lugar espectacular. Aprendimos, descansamos, comimos, caminamos y nos reencontramos. Gracias a Luisa, Antonio y todo su equipo.

Selva y mar pacífico en este hermoso jardín. El hotel es muy agradable, la comida deliciosa y la caminata es una oportunidad para apreciar y maravillarse de la exhuberancia del Pacífico.
¡Recomiendo la caminata de 6 horas con Antonio cómo guía!