Monte Quetzal

A portion of the old camino real, now a dirt road, passes near Santa Rosa [1], beginning in the village of San Agustín, beyond Dulce Nombre de Copán. From here you can walk over the crest of the mountains down to Santa Rita [2], near Copán Ruinas [3], in a day. It’s also fairly easy to catch a jalón on a passing pickup truck along the scenic road, which comes out by Hacienda El Jaral [4], just north of Santa Rita.

Near the camino real, on the south side, close to the highest point in the road, is the privately owned Monte Quetzal, a 1,900-meter mountain with dense cedar forest and plenty of its avian namesakes flitting among the trees. On the top of Monte Quetzal is a lush fern forest. An old mine, abandoned in 1965, can be explored up to 200 meters into the hillside. Max Elvir of Lenca Travel [5] knows the owner and can arrange trips there for US$25 a day per person for a small group.

Although Monte Quetzal is rich with its namesake birds, quetzals are notoriously difficult to spot, but with a bit of luck and patience, you just might see the long-tailed bird. Easier to spot are the countless centennial trees, including cedar, liquidambar (American sweet gum), oak, and calabash.