Birding, or bird watching in Atlantida is certainly one of the activities that is on the rise. Central America has carved itself a niche in this specialty tourism activity, and Atlantida in not only on board, it offers some of the best birding in Central America. The fact that Atlantida has a total of 7 protected areas within its territory! Almost half of the territory is under special protected area status, means that conditions are ideal for bird watchers.
Atlantida is actually one of the “hot spots” for bird watching in Honduras. Best of all, the different hot spot areas within the destination are easily accessible! If you factor in that many of the best trained birding guides are from Atlantida, well, you have an outstanding product! As if this were not enough, there are several great eco lodges located within the parks and in the heart of “hot spots”. This means that you can even overnight in these “hot spots” and be there early in the morning or at dusk to take full advantage of the birding opportunities. There is no doubt that Atlantida is one of the best bird watching destinations in Central America!
The best spots for bird watching in Atlantida are the Lancetilla Botanical Gardens near Tela and Pico Bonito National Park near La Ceiba, specifically in the areas adjacent to the community of El Pino and around the Cangrejal River Valley.
Lancetilla Botanical Garden is ideal for birding because there are many, many tropical fruit trees in the gardens. These make this a paradise for the birds that have plenty of food available to them at all times. The best local tour operators in Tela for birding tours are Eco di Mare Tours and Garifuna Tours, both have specialized guides and know the local trails well.
Pico Bonito National Park is a birders paradise, and best of all is the easy access to the park. The area near el Pino, is home to the Lodge at Pico Bonito, without doubt the premier bird watching lodge in Atlantida. As a matter of fact, they are leaders in the activity of bird watching in Honduras. They have a set of well kept trails with observation towers. These allow birders to have a “birds eye view” of the forest and see the many different birds that live up in the forest canopy.
The Cangrejal River Valley, which is home to both Pico Bonito and Nombre de Dios National Parks also offers outstanding birding. A great network of trails as well as a road with very light traffic provides the perfect setting for this activity. There are several different tour operators in the area that provide bird watching in Atlantida tours in the area, namely La Moskitia Eco Aventuras, Cangrejal Tours and Reservaciones La Ceiba.
Atlantida is a true birders paradise! Come, bring your checklist with you, and add some of those beautiful, elusive, and hard to see birds to your list!