In Search of the Elusive Howler Monkeys

Location: Northern Nicaragua: Matagalpa – Selva Negra

Since a few weeks back when I read more about Nicaragua’s northern region (or the Highlands, as it is also known), it occupied a principal spot on my destination list. This past weekend, I finally had the opportunity to visit. A Chilean I had met a few weeks back in Managua e-mailed me with the plan to go to Selva Negra (a coffee farm/eco-lodge/cloud-forest reserve) just north of Matagalpa – the region’s major city. The north is Nicaragua’s most mountainous region. It is different from Leon and the surrounding lowlands in almost every way possible. It is notably cooler and breezier. It rains a lot more. The landscape is dotted with green mountains instead of volcano peaks. The city of Matagalpa is situated in the skirts of the mountains. The people are fairer-skinned and often have blue or green eyes. This I learned is due to the influx of German immigrants to the area during the 1920s-1940s. Selva Negra, the place where we were headed, was also actually founded by a Nicaraguan of German descent.

We had luck with the public transportation: 1.5 hrs on a minibus from Leon to Managua, 30 mins to get to another bus terminal, 2 hrs on an express bus to Matagalpa (meaning no intermediate stops), 1 hr to Selva Negra on an old school bus, which wound its way very, very slowly up the mountainous road, then a short ride on the back of a truck whose driver offered to give us a ride.

Arriving at Selva Negra felt like entering another world. The clouds overhead moved rapidly across the sky; there was a constant breeze and rustling in the trees; the air felt crisp and fresh. I could hardly believe that I was still in the same country. After dropping off our bags and having lunch we decided to explore the cloud forest – home to resplendent quetzal (which is very rarely spotted), howler monkeys and many other species of birds, reptiles, and mammals. Our goal: to see the monkeys.

We walked for a while without spotting anything much of interest. Then we heard it: the roar of the howler monkeys. It sounds almost like a predator growl and carries afar. Supposedly, the howler monkey is the loudest land animal. Problem was that we couldn’t tell how far away the source was. A guide we came across a few minutes later claimed they were still more than 1 km away, although that seemed hard to believe. Eventually the roars died down. We had missed our chance.

A while later we were passed by two hikers who stopped a little ahead of us on the trail. Then, all of a sudden, the woman started stomping wildly in one place and then ran off. The guy followed suit (also stomping away). I was thinking, “What the hell???” Then we saw the source of the commotion: ants. While standing around and obliviously watching the swarm of ants a few meters away, I failed to notice that they had started crawling up my legs until I felt their nasty bites. It felt like tens of simultaneous little stings. I tried to brush them off, but they clung so tightly onto my skin that I actually had to pull some of them off. In those few seconds, they had managed to get into my hiking shoes and even as far as my knee-length pants. Now I understood why the woman had run away so frantically. (And I also had a flashback to that ant scene in the new Indiana Jones film.)

The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful until I heard some rustling in the trees above us. Then more rustling. I couldn’t tell whether it was a bird or a squirrel. Then I heard soft whimpering sounds. Then it appeared – a monkey. Then another one. Then another two. Then two baby ones. They were great to watch, especially the babies who were not quite as well coordinated and kept missing some of the branches. They crossed the trees above us following the same invisible path.

The excitement of having seen howler monkeys could only be surpassed by … seeing them again the following morning. Since my companions slept late, I ventured on a longer hike by myself. Sure enough, at the end of the hike, I spotted them again. It must have been the same family since I saw them in a spot close to where we had seen them the previous day. I stood there watching them for a while, before they disappeared completely out of sight. Seeing monkeys brought back fond memories of my time in Zimbabwe where I had seen monkeys for the very first time in the wild. And it made me miss Africa.

The rest of the morning, I read and mostly relaxed, and before I knew it, it was time to leave. We managed to hitch a ride again from Selva Negra to Matagalpa on the back of a truck (I love riding on the backs of trucks – it’s nice and breezy! Although I know it’s not the safest thing). Then took a bumpy, dusty 3-hr bus ride back to Leon (decided not to go through Managua this time). The road linking Matagalpa and Leon is in pretty bad condition, and given how much traffic there is between the two cities, I am surprised this stretch is not higher up on the priority list of road rehabilitation. But the views from the bus were terrific – first winding through the mountains and ending with the sun setting behind San Cristóbal, Nicaragua’s tallest volcano (1745 m).

Fresh off the bus near Selva Negra.

Yes, welcome.

Lake, lodge restaurant & cloud forest in the background.

A strange-looking tree along one of the many trails - this one (not so aptly) named "Romantic" trail. The ants were awaiting further along this trail :)

Other bizarre (and carnivorous-looking) plants

This little guy let me get pretty close to take a picture. Guess he thought I couldn't see him because of his camouflage.

More trail.

Sign at the bus station in Matagalpa. Hmmm... it really didn't look like a dangerous place.

The Matagalpa Cathedral - truly white as snow.

View of town.

Leaving Matagalpa.

From the bus: Volcán Momotombo at dusk - one of Nicaragua's almost perfectly cone-shaped volcanoes.

The sunset behind Volcán San Cristóbal in the distance - another almost perfect cone shape

P.S. Unfortunately, I have no photos of the monkeys, given that I took only videos and those are too big to upload here. But you can see some pics under the Wikipedia link above.