SCENIC POTENTIAL OF THE NATURE PRESERVE HILL DATANLÍ-EL DIABLO, JINOTEGA FOR ECOTOURISM PURPOSES

Abstract

This study was carried out in the Natural Reserve Cerro
Datanlí-El Diablo, Jinotega. The purpose was to identify
places with potential scenic beauty not yet considered for
ecotourism activities. The manly idea is to change a common
life of de local people that live there for the traffic of visitors.
Through a participatory consult to the villagers and personal
observations were recognized the natural attractiveness and
existent infrastructure in the protected area. The methodology
was developed in three phases: (1) the gathering of secondary
information, selection and location of the zone of study and
establishment of the contacts (MARENA, PAGJINO and local
people). (2) Field trips: a PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal),
three participative tools used; also, the identification of 22
places with ecotourism potential and the three problems that
limit their development. A survey of the seven trails in the
studied area performed, identifying a total of 17 places that
could serve of landscape viewers and 5 places to observe and
listening exotic birds like the Quetzal. Applications of surveys
to the local residents (children and young environmentalist,
women and producers) with the purpose of knowing their
participation in the activities of protection, conservation and
management of natural resources in the protected area. (3)
Assisted for the program Arc View 3.2, maps of the trails
and these show the walking trails and their main attractive
elaborated; it is proposed some changes to the route, based on
the steepness of the slopes, the visibility of the viewers and
according to the main attractiveness of each walking trail. All
the information was included to elaborate the infrastructure
design (steps, viewers and bridges) for the traffic of visitors
and was elaborated three proposals of tourist packages that
contain basic information of the natural existent resources in
the natural reserve.

Keywords: Ecotourism; Global Positional System (GPS);
landscape viewers; natural attractive; Participatory Rural
Appraisal (PRA); Potential scenic beauty; quality life
condition; surveys to the local residents; tourist packages;
visibility of the viewers; walking trails.

DOI: 10.5377/calera.v9i13.12