Morgan's Rock

Nicaragua nearly hosted the canal that made Panama famous instead. In the early 1900s, surveyors mapped a route from the Río San Juan into Lake Nicaragua and across the strip of land between San Juan del Sur and Rivas, on the ground where Morgan's Rock now stands. The US Senate approved the plan. What remains is 4,000 acres of Pacific coastline, roughly half of it kept as a private reserve, 13 km from San Juan del Sur. A mile of sandy beach runs below the hillside, visited year-round by nesting sea turtles; guests can watch hatchlings make their way to the water under staff supervision. Bungalows and two-bedroom villas sit in the treetops above the shore, reached by stairs and, for the ocean-view bungalows, a jungle suspension bridge roughly 50 yards long. Each has a plunge pool and a rope-hung daybed on the balcony. A working farm supplies much of the kitchen, including a small shrimp operation, and guests can join the morning milking or egg collection before breakfast. Kayaks and bicycles are free to use, and guided hikes run daily through the reserve's forest.