High end ecolodge Morgan's Rock offers a luxurious glimpse of Nicaraguan wildlife

An ecolodge set in 4,000 acres of dry forest about 12km from San Juan del Sur, a popular surf spot. Built by the Poncons, a French family who moved to Nicaragua in the 1970s, Morgan's Rock opened as a 15-bungalow resort in 2004.

The political situation has stabilised to the point where it's at least as safe as neighbouring Central American countries. The occasional political demonstrations and strikes are held mostly in Managua, the capital. Morgan's Rock is about 125km from Managua and has its own security force. Partially due to the country's turbulent political past, Nicaragua is less touristy than neighbouring Costa Rica.

The dry forest has two seasons: wet and dry. From December to May - the dry season - leaves fall from the property's 1.5 million trees. This is high season in Nicaragua and the best time to spot wildlife such as sloths and monkeys. The rest of the year brings rainfall and greenery. Tucked inside your bungalow, built more of screen than wall, you'll spend nights listening to howler monkeys and thunder as lightning pulses through the sky.

Instead of the golf course suggested by their advisers, the Poncons looked south, towards Costa Rica, which was attracting an upscale international market through ecotourism. They instigated a long list of eco measures, including recycling, composting, filtering greywater, heating with solar energy and feeding farm animals with leftover food.

Nope. Morgan's Rock is decidedly upscale. You walk along a trail, cross a 50-yard jungle suspension bridge and at last reach your private cliffside bungalow, perched 30 to 100 feet above a private beach. Inside, the bungalows are works of art, from the glistening hardwood floors down to sleek wooden ice buckets and sinks with decorative coiled taps of oxidised metal. Outside, queen-sized hanging daybeds overlook the cove below.