Capital of the department of Gracias a Dios, PUERTO LEMPIRA is the largest town in Mosquitia, with a population of 11,000. Set on the southeastern edge of the biggest of the coastal lagoons, Laguna de Caratasca, some 110km east of Brus Laguna, the town survives on government administration and small-scale fishing and shrimping. The best of the available accommodation is at the Hotel Flores (US$15-40) in the centre of town, where the small rooms all have a/c and bath; the Hospedaje Modelo (US$5-10) opposite is basic but clean. There are several small restaurants close by. Banco Atlántida, next to Hotel Flores will change travellers' cheques and gives Visa cash advances. Mopawi (tel 898 8659), the Mosquitia development organization, has its headquarters in the town, three blocks south of the main dock.

Puerto Lempira is hardly a transport hub, but the only traffic-frequented roads in Mosquitia lead west from here across the savanna to the village of Ahuasbila, an eight-hour drive, passing through Morocón and Rus Rus on the way. A side road shears off to Leimus on the Nicaraguan border; a truck leaves Puerto Lempira early each morning for Leimus, taking around five hours. There's a new Honduran migración post (daily 6am-8pm), but nothing on the Nicaraguan side, so you'll have to get your entry stamp in Puerto Cabezas.