el triunfo
The Most Magical Forest in the World
Located in the heart of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve is one of the last refuges of the majestic fog forest in Central America.
This unique ecosystem is home to extraordinary biodiversity, with giant trees up to 90 meters covered with lichens, mosses and orchids, creating a landscape of hazy hanging gardens. Exploring El Triunfo is immersing yourself in a mystical world where nature still dominates. Here they inhabit emblematic species such as the jaguar, the tapir, the spider monkey and the horned guan, as well as an incredible variety of bromeliads, arborescent ferns and wild avocados, the favourite fruit of quetzal, one of the most beautiful bird of the world.
Enter this natural paradise and live an unforgettable experience of ecotourism and adventure in one of the most impressive places in Mexico.
Arrival at Ángel Albino Corzo International Airport (Tuxtla Gutiérrez) and transfer to the Holiday Inn. We gather over dinner to meet our guide and review the plan and logistics for the trek ahead.
We begin at the spectacular Sumidero Canyon National Park, famous for cliffs of more than 3,000 ft towering above the Río Grijalva, one of southern Mexico’s great rivers — several viewpoints line the upper rim, each with amazing views and dry-forest birds. Afterward we take the road into the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the town of Jaltenango.
We leave Jaltenango for Santa Rita, where the rural road reveals the coffee plantations and part of the grain process. From here we ascend on foot along the slopes of the Sierra Madre — a calm 5–6 hour climb through pine, pine-oak, and sweetgum forest — until we reach the El Triunfo base camp, in the heart of the millennial cloud forest at 1,900 m. Pack mules carry all luggage.
In the afternoon, you can choose between continuing to explore or enjoy a moment of rest in the camp, surrounded by the unique silence of the forest, interrupted only by the sound of the wind between the branches and the distant echo of some exotic bird.
This day represents a total immersion in the majesty of the mountainous jungle. A gift for the body, the mind and the spirit.
Three full days exploring the trails in the core zone of the reserve — direct, intimate contact with one of the planet’s great forests. With patience and a little luck, we find the Resplendent Quetzal, revered by the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica, and the Horned Guan, a prehistoric cloud-forest bird endemic to the highlands of Chiapas and Guatemala — alongside traces of mammals and an extraordinary world of fungi, mosses, bromeliads, tree ferns, and orchids.
We descend through tropical evergreen, pine, and cypress forest amid beautiful natural scenery — on a clear day, the Pacific Ocean appears in the distance. The trail to Cañada Honda is home to countless birds, among them the localized Azure-rumped Tanager, a range-restricted beauty; this is the single best place on the route to find this elusive species.
We continue the descent toward the coastal plain, crossing tropical forest where the temperature rises as we drop and the vegetation shifts with every hour. Limonar, beneath tall ancient trees once a resting place for early-20th-century coffee merchants, is our camp for the night — with time to bird the surroundings.
A final descent through coffee plantations and tropical forest to Paval — a former coffee ranch near the Tres de Mayo community — then by vehicle to Mapastepec for lunch and on to the city of Tapachula, where the trek comes to its end with a farewell dinner.
Transfer to Tapachula International Airport. You leave with a remarkable list and the memory of one of the world’s great forests. ¡Hasta pronto!
OPTIONAL EXTENSION · LA ENCRUCIJADA BIOSPHERE RESERVE
After descending to Paval, we continue by vehicle to Mapastepec, on the edge of the coastal plain, for the night.
Early in the morning we depart for the Costa Verde Ecotourism Center at El Castaño, set on the edge of some of the tallest mangroves in the region — famous for its nesting Agami Herons, and a fine chance for Pacific Screech-Owl. We take a boat trip through the mangrove channels, then continue to Tapachula for a farewell dinner.
Transfer to Tapachula International Airport.