Foreword

The guide Bird Watching Guatemala, was designed with the main idea of promoting bird watching tourism in our country. As a visitor you will find an explanation of the different Guatemalan biomes or life zones that will take you through strategic routes.

The most important species have been illustrated following professional techniques with biological details and the realism that all birdwatchers prefer. The artist of these illustrations is Guatemalan with a wide birdwatching experience in the neotropics, and international background.

In the hope that the visitor will have a great experience while observing birds in Guatemala, you will find a description of each destination, the tourist facilities, and the basic services offered, or in case there are no services in the site, you will find how to reach the nearest locations who offer these services. There is also an explanation of how to reach the locations, and some bird species that has been recorded there, contacts and details that may help you to obtain more information when you start planning your journey.

In fairly short trajectories that can be travelled in a short time, a birdwatcher may experience all the different biomes located along the routes described in this edition. While you observe birds you will find a unique and diverse Guatemala. In only a week an experienced birdwatcher may recognize more than 300 species, travelling from mountain humid forests to semi-desert areas. In addition, you will find an interesting mixture of culture and nature, where all beauty and values of birds transcend their natural habitat into cultural expressions that date from pre-Hispanic times, in the form of iconographic representations that you may observe in some ceremonial ceramics, sculptures and the monumental architecture of the Mayan ruins.

In Guatemala there are several unique, multiethnic and multicultural features, that join as demonstration of the value of birds, in the form of handicrafts, music and the original designs that you will find in the beautiful textiles of ancient inheritance, a common attribute of the different ethnic groups from our country. Here you may discover that in the middle of the Mayan World, birdwatching have an ancient ancestral value.

With this introduction we are pleased to initiate you to this Guide, and extend you the invitation to visit our country and prove that in Guatemala you will live an authentic natural and fulfilling experience.

National Tourism Board - INGUAT
Product Development Division
Natural Patrimony Section