Birdwatching in Guatemala
Discover Guatemala’s feathered treasures
Interested in birdwatching in Guatemala? Then this itinerary is for you. We’ll take you high and low, through incredible natural scenery to find the birds you’re looking for. From the Resplendent Quetzal to a wide variety of hummingbirds, toucans, and parrots, this trip gives you the chance to see plenty of species you’d never find back home.
This birdwatching itinerary is carefully planned to give you as many opportunities as possible as we traverse the country by plane, car, and boat. We’ll visit wetlands, mangroves, mountains, lakes, rivers, and deep valleys on this journey. Are you ready for adventure?
Humming bird
Expert guides
Birdwatching
Tours for all ages
Rio Dulce
Living the sweet life
Tikal
Heart of the Mayan world
Highlights
This is quite the trip, taking you from one end of the country to the other! Birdwatching in Guatemala is an exciting challenge with the biggest prize being the Resplendent Quetzal, Guatemala’s national bird. You’re bound to find plenty of other treasures here, though, as we travel from Lake Atitlan to Flores Island and Tikal. From pine forests to cloud forests and thick jungle, this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.
You’ll visit El Pilar Farm near Guatemala City, Finaca El Espinero and Los Tarrales Reserve near Lake Atitlan, and then fly to a more tropical area, Peten. Whether you like the challenge of looking for an elusive species or just want to see what sorts of birds are around Guatemala, you’ll have a wonderful time. We’ll guide you from one birding hotspot to the next, ensuring you have the best chance of catching sight of as many bird species as possible.
Itinerary
You’ll arrive at Guatemala’s Aurora International Airport, and our driver will pick you up. From Guatemala City, you’ll drive to Lake Atitlan, where you’ll be staying. This beautiful lake was formed by an ancient volcanic eruption and is surrounded by lush forests and pleasant villages. Here you’ll stay in a remote lodge that overlooks the lake on a private nature reserve, part of the Atitlan Important Bird Area.
The area is populated with a number of bird species, as well as animals. You may spot a Near Threatened Belted Flycatcher, a Blue-and-White Mockingbird, Bar-winged Oriole, or Bushy-crested Jay, among many others.
- Three nights at Lake Atitlan.
After a tasty breakfast at the lodge, we’ll board a boat and enjoy a brisk morning trip across the lake to the town of Santiago. Steeped in history, Santiago is the largest town on the lake, mostly inhabited by Tz’utujil Maya. The original name for the early settlement was Tz’ikin Jaay, which means House of the Birds, an apt name considering what we’ll be doing today!
Just 20 minutes from Santiago is the Rey Tepepul Kaan Reserve, a protected area that spans over 3,500 hectares and includes two volcanic cones. The reserve contains cloud forests, montane forests, and subtropical humid forests, so you’re bound to see a nice variety of birds and other wildlife here.
If you’re set on spotting a Resplendent Quetzal, the country’s national bird, the Rey Tepepul Kaan Reserve is one of the best areas to see one. The quetzal is unique with its bright green and red plumage and long, curled tail feathers. To boost your chances of finding a quetzal, you’ll want to visit between January and April, but they can be spotted throughout the year. You may also see toucans, hummingbirds, and a variety of local and migratory birds.
Rey Tepepul Kaan isn’t the only nature reserve known for incredible birdwatching around Lake Atitlan. Today, we’ll hop on a boat to another part of the Atitlan Important Bird Areas, Los Tarrales Reserve. The reserve is self-sustaining, bringing in its own income via coffee, honey, ornamental plants, and ecotourism.
Spread out over both cloud forests and humid broadleaf forests, more than 350 bird species live in Los Tarrales Reserve. These include threatened species like the Horned Guan, Azure-rumped Tanager, Pink-headed Warbler, and Highland Guan. You may also see some of the many creatures that make this area their home, including deer, agouti, white-bellied chachalaca, and even pumas.
We’ll head to the colonial town of Antigua Guatemala today, but we have a few amazing places to stop along the way. Our first stop is at Rincon Suizo Restaurant. This lovely restaurant, designed after Swiss chalets and built from wood, is a landmark beside the highway. While the food here is delicious, it also provides a thick forest where you can hike and spot local birds. The area isn’t very large and can be rather steep, but the woods offer the perfect habitat for the likes of Pink-headed warblers, Blue-throated motmots, and the Rufous-browed Wren.
Once you’ve had a chance to spot all the warblers that hang out in the woods by Rincon Suizo, we’ll continue to Finca El Espinero in Tecpan. The finca or farm is around 335 acres and features a massive Guatemalan fir tree farm where people can buy natural Christmas trees. The farm also offers a large number of trails for mountain biking, hiking, and running, as well as a rowing pond.
The vast number of trees invites birds to nest there, so it’s possible to see pink-headed Chipes, Trogons, and a number of different hummingbird species. This is a great place to cross a few more birds off your must-see list. The farm also raises falcons and peacocks.
We’ll finish up at the finca and continue to Antigua, a beautiful tourist center with cobbled streets, dozens of church ruins, and a history as rich as the coffee it serves. You’ll have time to take a walk in the evening and really absorb the atmosphere here, but don’t stay out too late . . . we have an early start tomorrow.
- One night in Antigua.
Ready for more birdwatching in Guatemala? Today, we’ll get up early and drive to Finca El Pilar, known for its biodiversity and important ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration and water provision. The farm provides water to several communities near Antigua.
With more than 180 recorded bird species in El Pilar, you have a great chance of spotting some interesting ones. The hiking trails throughout the 950 acres of land are well maintained, and there are bird feeders set out to attract birds to specific areas. You’ll most often see Blue-tailed, Azure-crowned, Magnificent, and White-eared hummingbirds, as well as violet and Rufous Sabrewings. However, as you venture deeper into the park, there are even more winged beauties hanging around.
After a nice hike, it’s time to sit back and relax as we drive to Guatemala City. Back in the now-familiar airport, we’ll board a small plane that takes us to Flores Island. Located in Lake Peten Itza in Peten, this island is a fun place to visit. It’s just 0.04 square miles, but it packs a lot into that space. Upon arrival, we’ll get you settled in your hotel before heading out for a sunset boat tour of the lake. This is the perfect time to watch all the birds return to their roosts for the night. It’s a cacophony of sound as they all call to each other, finding the perfect place to spend the night. Some trees are so heavily filled with birds, they look like fruit!
- Two nights in Flores.
Coming to Guatemala and not visiting Tikal is a travesty, so today we’ll start our morning off by exploring this historical site. Established around 900 BC, this Mayan city grew until it peaked between 200-900 AD. For centuries, it was an important military, economic, and political city that traded heavily with other Mesoamerican centers in Belize, Mexico, and Honduras. In the 10th century, it declined and was abandoned, letting the jungle recover the site.
Today, Tikal has been partially excavated, and you can visit the main plazas, palaces, ball courts, and impressive temples, including the Great Jaguar Temple. Carved monuments and stelae are set around the site, too, giving a glimpse of what life was like here.
Surrounded by jungle, Tikal is the perfect place to find more than 300 bird species. Monkeys, jaguars, pumas, and anteaters roam this jungle, but there are plenty of neotropical birds fluttering through the treetops, too. You may see Keel-billed toucans, parrots, and turkeys in the wild, as well as the olive-throated parakeet, ruddy crake, social flycatcher, great curassow, thicket tinamou, and orange-breasted falcon.
Next, you’ll visit El Remate, a quiet village on the northern shore of Lake Peten Itza. Shallow water near the town forms the perfect habitat for many water birds like the American Coot, Northern Jacana, and herons. However, what really makes this area fascinating is the fact that you can find several coastal species on the inland lake, including Royal and Caspian terns and even Black Skimmers.
Nearby trails in the Maya-Lacandon Important Bird Area give you a chance to spot many of the other birds that make their home here. Snail kites, Morelet’s Seedeater, and the Groove-billed Ani are all found in the area. Just walking through town is a fun experience, too, as there are murals of some of the more famous birds in the area.
Finally, we’ll head back to Flores Island for one last night.
Your birdwatching adventure in Guatemala is over, but we hope you’ll come back soon. You’ll be taken to the Mundo Maya airport for a short flight back to Guatemala City where you can board your flight home.
map, expenses & price
Birdwatching in Guatemala
Expenses included:
-All private transportation
-Six nights of hotel accommodations
-Domestic flights
-Professional certified guides
-Tours and activities as listed
-All park entrance fees
-Breakfast and two lunches
Extensions
ADD-ON
Tucked between Belize and Honduras, the Izabal Department of Guatemala is found in the northeastern part of the country. It’s the second largest department out of 22 in Guatemala and has some of the most varied culture, with a mix of Ladino, Q’eqchi, Garifuna, and Afro-Caribbean groups. While you’ll have ample time to enjoy immersing yourself in these cultures, we’re here to visit Bocas de Polochic and Rio Dulce, two areas well-known for their birdwatching possibilities.
Bocas de Polochic is found at the mouth of the Polochic River, where it flows into Lake Izabal. The wildlife refuge and wetland cover 51,300 acres of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, where you’ll find unique plants and animals. Howler monkeys, river otters, wildcats, and manatees all live here, but so do many birds. You may see three Guatemalan toucan species, the white-collared manakin, crimson-collared tanager, or the Emerald toucanet, as well as many other beautiful species.
Rio Dulce, or Sweet River, flows into the Caribbean Sea from Lake Izabal, running through tropical rainforest, limestone cliffs, and mangroves, making for a rich biodiverse environment. Here, you’ll find waterbirds like the ruddy and gray-breasted crakes, Sora, Limpkin, and Sungrebe, raptors such as Cooper’s Hawk, Harpy Eagles, and Ornate Hawk-Eagle, and a variety of cuckoos, hummingbirds (more than six species), and toucans. There’s nothing better than traveling by boat along the river and stopping to catch a glimpse of a rare bird.
add-on
Alta Verapaz is a department in the central northern part of Guatemala, known for its stunning scenery and lush vegetation. It’s a beautiful place to visit, both for birdwatching and just enjoying nature. We’ll visit three areas here: Biotopo del Quetzal, Los Ranchitos Reserve, and Laguna Lachua. All three are ideal for finding a variety of bird species.
El Biotopo del Quetzal was established in 1976 in an effort to preserve the habitat of Guatemala’s national bird, the Resplendent Quetzal. This beautiful bird is elusive, but it’s quite the sight to see, with long, bright green tail feathers trailing behind it as it flies, making it look like a snake. You’re more likely to hear rather than see the bird, but you may spot a Highland Guan, Slate-throated Redstart, or Unicolored Jay among many, many more species.
When you travel to Los Ranchitos Reserve, not far from Biotopo del Quetzal, you’ll find yourself walking quiet trails beside rivers, admiring waterfalls, and enjoying the opportunity to spot some very elusive species. Aside from the quetzal, you may see hummingbirds and cloud forest species, including the Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner. The reserve works hard to promote conservation and reforestation and provides nature hikes and birdwatching tours.
Finally, you’ll visit Laguna Lachua, a beautiful turquoise lake in the Laguna Lachua National Park. It’s the most humid area in Guatemala and home to over 300 bird species. From the Rufous-tailed hummingbird and the Long-billed Hermit to the Bat Falcon and Mottled owl, there are plenty of birds to see here.
