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Laguna Lachuá - In the heart of the rainforest. Photo/© Knut Eisermann. |
Birding in "Laguna Lachuá" National Park. Lachuá is a 14,500 hectare jewel of pristine tropical rainforest set down in northern Guatemala. The park is one of the areas with the highest annual rainfalls in Guatemala and it is home to more than 310 bird species, according to studies since 1998 (Avendaño 2001, Eisermann 2001). Like a "little piece of the Caribbean", the park is famous for its lagoon with its brilliant turquoise-colored water.
Travelers on this tour will walk to Laguna Lachuá through the tranquil rainforest, witnessing a diversity of bird activity along the way. You may be surprised by a sudden, noisy, mixed-species chorus led by the Black-throated Shrike-Tanager (Lanio aurantius); you will see species like the Plain Xenops (Xenops minutus), Green Shrike-Vireo (Vireolanius pulchellus) and the always talkative Red-Crowned Ant-Tanager (Habia rubica) feeding. Along the trail you may see hummingbirds like the Long-tailed Hermit (Phaethornis superciliosus) sharing the trail with you; they might even stop to take a closer look at you to make sure you are not a flower. You will also observe different kinds of cichlids taking care for their young in the clear water of the lagoon close to the shore - don't forget to bring your swimming suit and goggles, the water is perfect for a swim! While you are enjoying the bright blue water, you can also find out what the local people call the lake's "monster".
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Common Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicolllis) in the vistor center in the Lachuá National Park. Photo/© Knut Eisermann. |
Take in the intense array of colorful butterflies and scan the horizon looking for the King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), the Black-and-White Hawk Eagle (Spizastur melanoleucus) or one of the other 26-recorded raptor species in the area. As you rest on the shore of the lagoon enjoying the sunset, you will see the Bat Falcon (Falco rufigularis) eating dinner, as it eagerly hunts for dragonflies, and the nocturnal awakening of the Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis). As a new day dawns, listen to the morning "party" in the park as social groups of the Mealy Parrot (Amazona farinosa), one of the largest parrots in Guatemala and Mexico that is endangered because of illegal trading, chatter back and forth. Among the Neartic birds that you will find feeding and floating through the rainforest are the Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), the Kentucky Warbler (Oporornis formosus), the Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia), the Black- and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) and the Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica).
Accommodation: Laguna Lachuá is not included in our tour packages (only costumized tours), since it is not easyly accessible and accomodation has expedition character.
The visitor's center where we will overnight is approximately a one-hour walk from the park entrance on a well-maintained, small trail through the rainforest. For those interested, a local porter can be arranged to carry bags.
The visitor's center has a simple lodge with two levels. It is just two minutes away from the lagoon and is equipped with bunk beds and clean sheets, mosquito nets and solar energy. Compost toilets of local standard are available. We will prepare meals in the spacious kitchen at the lodge and filtered, purified water is always available for drinking.
When is the best time for a visit in Lachuá? Any time of year is well worth the trip, however the primary bird breeding season, and thus the highest bird activity, is from March to June.
How will you contribute to the conservation in "Laguna Lachuá" National Park? Your visit will help finance conservation and survey activities in the park's protected area and the human-inhabited areas surrounding the park. A total of 12 government forest rangers patrol the primary forest of the park and it's borders next to villages in order to control illegal use and extraction of natural resources within the park's borders. Some of these rangers also participate in environmental education programs for children in the schools around the Park and others attend primarily to tourism activities. In addition, these same rangers, as part of a collaboration with the State-run San Carlos University, have been trained to work as field assistants in scientific studies carried out by the University in the park and its area of influence. Another positive program you will be supporting is the park's effort to establish and maintain friendly relations with neighboring communities and their farmers. The park's administration has made a concerted effort to help neighboring farmers participate more in tourism activities in the area as an alternative income source to slash and burn farming. This program has been an important step in converting neighboring farmers into conservation agents and with the jobs that your tourism can help generate in these communities, you are helping to reduce the human impact on the park's biodiversity.
