After several years of being closed, Reserva El Triunfo has reopened, and we are more than thrilled to be taking a Field Guides group there! Many consider El Triunfo to be the crown jewel of Neotropical birding. It just doesn’t get much better than this. Picture walking outside of your cabin at the base camp; a ring of misty cloud forest surrounds the clearing where Baird’s Tapirs cross, and a cacophony of birds welcomes the day—birds like Yellow-throated Nightingale-Thrushes, Guatemalan Yellow Grosbeaks, Middle American Leaftosser, Scaly-throated Foliage-Gleaners, Highland Guans, Barred Forest-Falcons, Northern Emerald Toucanets and Black-throated Jays all sound off. Soon the mist rises, and you see a male Resplendent Quetzal in a display flight above the canopy, its meter-long tail snaking behind it. You walk a short distance from camp and hear the deep booming of a Horned Guan reverberating through the moss and tree ferns. You look up and there it is, just overhead in a wild avocado tree, totally unafraid! This colossal bird with a velvet black face, goofy white eye, silver-streaked chest, and waxy red horn is the last of an old lineage of cracids just hanging onto this cloud forest ridge. Bienvenidos a El Triunfo! Join us in the cloud forest!
For this week-long tour we start in Tuxtla Gutierrez, then drive to the town of Jaltenango. From here, we take a truck 20 miles along a dirt road until we reach the old German coffee plantation of Finca Prusia. Here begins the 6-mile hike on a gradual incline to the El Triunfo base camp cabins. Thankfully, a crew with horses will take all our luggage and food up the mountain so you only need to carry your birding gear for the day. Once there, we will spend three days exploring the various trails that radiate from camp, enjoying the sights and sounds of the cloud forest and the delicious meals prepared by the local cooks. We will hike back down and drive to Jaltenango, then drive back to Tuxtla, so there will be no need for camping, which is a requirement if you go down the Pacific side. From Tuxtla you can fly home or join us for the Enchanted Chiapas tour to see the rest of the specialties of Southern Mexico.
Select the KEY INFO tab or click here for our itinerary plus space requests, status, fees, limits, and guides for any departure.
Combo Tours
If you would like a longer birding holiday, some departures of this tour may be combined with:
MEXICO: ENCHANTED CHIAPAS