Scarlet Macaws splash the rainforest with color at Lacandon. Photo: Steve Howell
Not so many years ago, a visit to Mexico’s Lacandon rainforest and the Maya ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilan was a major undertaking. Today, with new paved roads and new lodges, the Lacandon is surprisingly easy to visit. Scarlet Macaws, Great Curassows, howler monkeys, hawk-eagles, and perhaps even a tapir or jaguar can be seen amid spectacular rain forest, home to the lowland Maya civilization.
The region lies in the watershed of the Usumacinta (“sacred monkey”) River, which served the Maya as a network of water highways for commerce, war, and cultural exchange; sites such as Yaxchilan lie along the Usumacinta itself, while Bonampak (unknown to westerners until 1946) lies along the Lacanja River, a tributary of the Usumacinta.
Mexico’s Lacandon rainforest represents the northernmost extension of truly Amazonian fauna: puffbirds, toucans, jacamars, antbirds, leaftossers, manakins, cotingas, and woodcreepers all occur here—but in manageable doses. One local community is working to protect the endangered Scarlet Macaw, and from their comfortable lodge we’ll take a boat trip up beautiful limestone tributaries into the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve.
Day 1: The tour begins in Villahermosa, where we’ll spend the night before setting off on our adventure.
Days 2-7: We’ll head into the Lacandon region, visiting the forested Maya sites of Yaxchilan, Bonampak, and Palenque, as well as the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve and community-based forest reserves. The ruins are spectacular reminders of a civilization that melted into the forest. King Vultures and White Hawks soar overhead, and Sungrebes swim stealthily along shady streams, while mixed-species forest flocks entertain with antvireos, woodcreepers, tanagers, and migrant warblers. Scarlet Macaws splash the trees with color, Central America Pygmy Owls toot from the forest canopy, and rarities in this little-birded area include Gray-breasted Crake and Blue Seedeater.
Day 8: We’ll head back to Villahermosa by way of some extensive wetlands packed with waterbirds and raptors, showcasing another component of the area’s rich avian diversity.
Day 9: The tour concludes this morning in Villahermosa.
Updated: 07 April 2011
Prices
- 2012 Tour Price : $2,700*
- Single Occupancy Supplement : $490
Notes
This tour is limited to seven participants with one leader, 12 with two leaders.
* Tour invoices paid by check carry a modest discount. Details here.