Birding Tour Guatemala: Tikal and Mayan Rainforest Highlights

Come join us in the fascinating Central American country of Guatemala as we combine antiquities and birding, exploring the temples of Tikal and birding in Mayan rainforests. Guatemala is an easy country to travel in and has the added appeal of being just a short flight away from North America. Furthermore, this Guatemala birding tour can work well as an introduction to birding in the neotropics.

Ocellated Turkey is reliable around the Tikal ruins.

Northeast Guatemala and the department of Petén holds two main tourist destinations, Laguna del Tigre National Park and Tikal National Park. Laguna Del Tigre National Park covers 1,300 square miles (3,300 square kilometers) making it the largest national park in Guatemala and the largest protected wetland in Central America. This amazing RAMSAR site is Guatemala’s last refuge of the declining Scarlet Macaw. The fabulous forests and rivers here are home to plenty of special birds including the likes of Agami and Boat-billed Herons, Ruddy Crake, Thicket Tinamou, Northern Potoo, Sungrebe, Lovely Cotinga and localized species such as Yucatan Woodpecker and Yucatan Jay. We will spend three nights within the park exploring the rainforest and looking for as many birds as possible and, with luck, we may encounter shy wildlife such as Jaguar or Puma, which still occur in these remote forests.

Tikal National Park covers 223 square miles (576 square kilometers) and is one of the finest archaeological examples of Mayan architecture. It is a complex of temples, buildings and pyramids from the classic Mayan period 200-850 AD and today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tikal is surrounded by a beautiful and lush rainforest that provides a unique birding experience with specials such as Ocellated Turkey, Grey-throated Chat, Northern Barred Woodcreeper, Yucatan Flycatcher, Yucatan Poorwill, Mayan Antthrush, Pale-billed Woodpecker, Keel-billed Toucan, Northern Mealy and Red-lored Amazons. Tikal is also one of the best places to look for the most-wanted Orange-breasted Falcon.

We invite you to join us on our comprehensive Guatemala: Tikal and Mayan Rainforest Highlights tour for a wonderful birding and cultural experience which can also be combined with our preceding Guatemala itinerary.

Keel-billed Toucan is abundant in the Tikal National Park.