Macaw Mountain Bird Park


Around 2.5km outside Copán Ruinas is an extensive private reserve aimed at saving Central American macaws. There are plenty of them here, along with toucans, motmots, parrots, kingfishers and orioles, all flying around in spacious, humanely constructed cages. In the 'Encounter Center' uncaged birds fly onto your shoulders or hands and you can pose for photos with them.

If caged birds upset you, bear in mind that nearly all of these birds have been donated to the park by owners who didn't want them anymore, or were confiscated from bird smugglers. It's a lovely place to wander around, with plenty of walking trails weaving through the lush forest and over boardwalks to lookout points and swimming holes; there's also a cafe-restaurant on the property. The entrance ticket – which includes a guided tour in English – is valid for three days. To get here, catch a mototaxi (three-wheeled motor taxi) for L20 per person.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Casa K’inich

0.7 MILES

Casa K’inich includes an interactive re-creation of the ancient football game practiced by the Copán residents more than a millennia ago. Displays are in…

2. Mirador El Cuartel

0.7 MILES

The atmospheric ruins of the old town jail have a fine view of the town and surrounding countryside, making it worth the steep walk uphill to get here.

3. Tea & Chocolate Place

0.91 MILES

This charming place is a research center that doubles as a tea and gift shop every afternoon to support the important reforestation work carried out by…

4. Museo Digital de Copán

0.92 MILES

This museum opened in late 2015 as a gift to the people of Copán from Japan and contains some interesting old photographs. The main reason to visit,…

6. Memorias Frágiles

0.95 MILES

This fascinating photo exhibition was a gift from Boston's Peabody Museum; it features a collection of rare photos detailing the first archaeological…

7. Museo de Arqueología Maya

0.98 MILES

The Museo de Arqueología Maya is worth a visit. The exhibits include some of the best excavated ceramics, fragments from the altars and the supports of…

8. Núñez Chinchilla

1.01 MILES

One hundred and fifty meters north of the Grand Plaza and included on the Copan site ticket, this interesting site of 23 residential structures was still…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "honduras/western-honduras/copan-ruinas/attractions/macaw-mountain-bird-park/a/poi-sig/432542/358473",
      "position": "superzone"
    }