The best place to spot Guatemala’s birds and wildlife are in its forests and jungles. The country has nine biomes from sea level to above 13,100 feet. The Petén, Guatemala’s largest department (or state), is the center of the Mundo Maya with Tikal anchoring the main tourist route. Home to the majority of Guatemala’s tropical forest, travelers often see toucan, spider monkey, howler monkey and many small ground mammals such as agouti and coati mundi. Must more rare sightings include the elusive jaguar in the jungles of Petén, and the Quetzal in the cloud forests of Guatemala’s higher elevations in the coffee-grown regions of Coban and Huehuetenango. Manatee are sometimes seen in the Caribbean coastal waters off Puerto Barrios. You will often hear the argument that Costa Rica’s wildlife is far superior to Guatemala’s – it is true, Costa Rica has more visible and accessible wildlife, but Amani Travel finds Guatemala’s wild ruins, tropical species and rich living history incomparable. It’s not apples to apples!