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National Parks in the Reserve

Rainforest Alliance
May 6, 20215 min read

Learn about the different national parks located in the Reserve!


At each of these national parks you will find jaguars, birds, monkeys and pumas. All of these parks are led by tour guides who will show you the hot spots


Tikal National Park

Arguably one of the most indelible images of the Reserve is the Maya Ruins which stretches for miles around lush vegetation in the Reserve. If you were to bring your phone to this site and post photos on your social media, you would likely receive many likes on your Instagram for snapping some of the most ancient ruins in North American history where you will spot temples, pyramids and tikis made out of limestone. Tikal is located 25km northeast of Flores, and in the southeast of the Reserve.


Tikal National Park encompasses 55,005 ha, and is 575 square kilometres of total jungle, wetlands, savannah, palm forests and remains of the Mayan civilization from the 600 BC era to the collapse of the urban centre around 900 AD. In 1990, Tikal was granted status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, not just for its ruins but also for its extraordinary biodiversity.



Photo 1: A friendly feline you will find in Tikal, courtesy of http://www.tikalpark.com/#!/felines

Photo 2: Ocellated Turkey from Wikimedia, one of the many creatures you will find in Tikal


This region is warm and humid with temperatures ranging from 17-25 C and with humidity up to 85%. The rainy season lasts from May to December, and the dry seasons last from April to May.


Although this area benefits from tourism, some of the negative effects include excessive waste and a disruption to the ecosystem caused by tourists feeding material to wildlife which can be harmful to their bodies. The park also carries many personnel members to monitor and oversee the crowd and their daily activities, and also includes detecting forest fires which has been a big issue in the area, even before the inception of the Reserve.


Since the inception of granted concessions, there have been many ecotours offered by the different communities in the Reserve from Carmelita and Uaxactún which are fun by the community members for tourists of all kinds.



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Mirador-Dos Lagunas-Rio Azul National Park


In the shape of a heart, this national park covers more than 1.6 million acres in northern Guatemala and borders Campeche, Mexico. Rainforests and swamps surround the area, and it is also rich with wildlife.


Here you will also find the ancient city of El Mirador. The Mayans built several pyramids, one of which is the tallest pyramid in the world, La Danta which measures up to 72 metres according to its tourist website. Many ruins still remain to this day and is open for visitors


The climate is similar to other national parks in the Reserve. Warm and humid with temperatures ranging from 17-25 C and with humidity up to 85%. The rainy season lasts from May to December, and the dry seasons last from April to May.


Some of the downfalls of this beautiful area are deforestation, looting of the ruins, trees as well as destruction caused by logging and mass tourism. To combat these issues, laws have been put in place to prohibit fishing and hunting, only sporadically on rare occasions for extracting non-timber forest products. There is also no permanent residency inside the park as well.


In the park, there are a number of concessions in the area which focuses on ecotourism with tours from Uaxactún and Carmelita, along with concessions concentrated on xate and chicle which have helped cut down on deforestation in the multi-use zone.


A future threat that exists is large scale tourism projects, not just in El Mirador but in the entire region. There have been many proposals over the years, most recently by American archaeologist Richard Hansen to build a tourist attraction. Such a plan would harm the already scarce area and threaten the many communities living around El Mirador. To read more, click below


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Laguna del Tigre National Park

The largest national park in Guatemala which covers an area of 337,899 ha and is located on the northwest corner of Petén as part of the multiple-use zone. It also is one of the largest protected wetlands in Central America. This area features forests and savannas which tend to flood constantly due to the wet terrain and a rainy season which lasts from July to December. Typically there is an annual average precipitation of 1629 mm. However, the climate is warm and humid most of the time with an average temperature of 30 C. The dry season lasts from January to July.


While in the forests, you will be able to find several archaeological sites including one of the rarest visited archaeological sites, El Perú- the rival of Tikal and the site of one of the capitals in the Maya city state.. These ruins date back to 250-900 AD, the classic period of the Maya civilization


Laguna del Tigre features a rich terrain for birds, some of which include:

  • Scarlet Macaw: Post popular bird in the national park

  • Ornate hawk-eagle

  • Gray-headed kite

  • Black collared hawk

  • Owls

  • Woodpecker

Also of course:

  • Crocodiles

  • Jaguars

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Sierra del Lacondón National Park


Located in the western section of Libertad municipality of Petén, in the core zone of the MBR. It is the second largest national park in the country which covers 202,865 hectares, and features a number of wetlands, savannahs, high forest and low forest as well as incredible vegetation. It also features the highest elevation in Petén.


The climate in Sierra del Lacandón is hot and humid. The average temperature is 25 C. The area experiences rain from June to December and in that time, it receives about 72-100 inches of rain. The dry season is from January to May typically.


Similar to the other national parks in the area, the biggest threats are logging, ranching, forest fires, and human invasions. Since CONAP has taken over control of the park, there is now a high number of personnel assigned to oversee daily activity including monitoring who is allowed to enter the park, how many are allowed to enter, and what they are able to do which includes some tourism, some hunting and fishing but no human settlement.


Right next to the national park is Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico which features similar wildlife and is separated by the Usumacinta River. Much of the area is flat with some elevation in terrain up to 2086 feet. Besides lush vegetation and trees, you will find old Mayan ruins and also cenotes. Quite the contrast to the tall forests that occupy the majority of the park.




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