This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Central America.
Site | Image | Location | Criteria | Area ha (acre) | Year | Description | Refs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antigua Guatemala | Sacatepéquez Department, Guatemala 14°34′N90°40′W / 14.567°N 90.667°W | Cultural: (ii), (iii), (iv) | 49 (120) | 1979 | Founded in the early 16th century, Antigua was the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala and its cultural, economic, religious, political and educational centre until a devastating earthquake in 1773. Its principal monuments have been preserved largely as ruins and are an excellent example of Spanish colonial architecture. | [3] | |
Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua | Izabal Department, Guatemala 15°16′14″N89°2′25″W / 15.27056°N 89.04028°W | Cultural: (i), (ii), (iv) | — | 1981 | Quiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site that flourished during the Late Classic. The ruins of the site contain outstanding carved stelae and sculpted calendars. | [4] | |
Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá | Panamá District, Panamá Province, Panama 9°00′24″N79°29′06″W / 9.00667°N 79.48500°W | Cultural: (ii), (iv), (vi) | 57 (140) | 1997 [nb 1] | Founded in 1519, Panamá Viejo was the first European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. The Historic District is a 17th-century replacement of the original town and preserves its street plan, architecture and blend of Spanish, French and early American styles. | [5] [6] | |
Area de Conservación Guanacaste | Guanacaste and Alajuela Provinces, Costa Rica 10°51′N85°37′W / 10.850°N 85.617°W | Natural: (ix), (x) | 147,000 (360,000) | 1999 [nb 2] | Stretching from the Pacific across the Cordillera de Guanacaste to the Atlantic, the site contains a range of habitats, including some of the most pristine wetland forests worldwide and the best dry forest habitats in Central America; that provide space for several threatened plant and animal species such as the saltwater crocodile, leatherback sea turtle, jaguar, jabiru, mahogany or guayacán. | [7] | |
Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System | Belize, Stann Creek and Toledo Districts, Belize 17°19′N87°32′W / 17.317°N 87.533°W | Natural: (vii), (ix), (x) | 96,300 (238,000) | 1996 | The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System is the largest reef system on the Northern Hemisphere and harbors several threatened species including sea turtles, manatees and the American crocodile. The site was listed as endangered from 2009 to 2018 due to mangrove cutting and overdevelopment. It was removed from the List in danger after a moratorium on oil exploration in the entire maritime zone of Belize and the strengthening of forestry regulations allowing for better protection of mangroves. | [8] [9] | |
Cocos Island National Park | Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica 5°32′N87°4′W / 5.533°N 87.067°W | Natural: (ix), (x) | 199,790 (493,700) | 1997 [nb 3] | As the only island in the tropical eastern Pacific, Cocos Island provides unique marine habitats for large pelagic fish such as sharks, tuna, dolphins or rays. | [10] [11] | |
Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection | Veraguas and Chiriquí Provinces, Panama 7°26′N81°46′W / 7.433°N 81.767°W | Natural: (ix), (x) | 270,125 (667,490) | 2005 | The park protects islands and marine areas in the Gulf of Chiriquí and is home to an exceptionally large number of endemic mammals, birds and plants as well as to several threatened species. The marine ecosystem is characterized by a very large biodiversity with 760 species of marine fishes, 33 species of sharks and 20 species of cetaceans. | [12] | |
Darien National Park | Darién Province, Panama 7°44′N77°33′W / 7.733°N 77.550°W | Natural: (vii), (ix), (x) | 597,000 (1,480,000) | 1981 | Situated on the border between South and Central America, the park consists of a wide range of habitats including sandy and rocky coastlines, mangroves, swamps, upland and lowland tropical forests. Two Indian tribes, the Chocó and the Kuna live in the property. | [13] | |
Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo † | Colón Province, Panama 9°33′14″N79°39′21″W / 9.55389°N 79.65583°W | Cultural: (i), (iv) | — | 1980 | As outstanding examples of Spanish military architecture, the forts were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries to protect the Isthmus of Panama which had been of great importance to European colonial trade. | [14] | |
Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site | Opico, La Libertad Department, El Salvador 13°49′39″N89°22′9″W / 13.82750°N 89.36917°W | Cultural: (iii), (iv) | — | 1993 | Joya de Cerén are the remains of a pre-Hispanic farming community that has been preserved largely intact buried under a volcanic eruption around 590 AD. It provides valuable archaeological for everyday life in the 6th century. | [15] | |
León Cathedral | León Nicaragua 12°26′06″N86°52′41″W / 12.43500°N 86.87806°W | Cultural: (ii), (iv) | 0.77 (1.9); buffer zone 13 (32) | 2011 | Built over more than 150 years starting in the mid-18th century, the cathedral's architecture is a fusion of different styles from Baroque to Neoclassicism and an expression of a new Latin American society that developed around the 18th century. | [16] | |
Maya Site of Copan | Copán Department, Honduras 14°51′0″N89°8′0″W / 14.85000°N 89.13333°W | Cultural: (iv), (vi) | 15.095 (37.30); buffer zone 258.365 (638.43) | 1980 | Image is of Maya stelae H from Copán in Honduras | [17] | |
National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj | Retalhuleu Department, Guatemala 14°38′19″N91°42′57″W / 14.63861°N 91.71583°W | Cultural: (ii), (iii) | 14.88 (36.8) | 2023 | Archaeological site that that the transition from the Olmec civilization to the emergence of Early Mayan culture. | [18] | |
Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís | Palmar Sur, Costa Rica 8°54′41″N83°28′39″W / 8.911389°N 83.477500°W | Cultural: (iii) | 6,172 (15,250); buffer zone 6,080 (15,000) | 2014 | [19] | ||
Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve † | La Mosquitia, Honduras 15°44′40″N84°40′30″W / 15.74444°N 84.67500°W | Natural: (vii), (viii), (ix), (x) | 500,000 (1,200,000) | 1982 | Endangered since 2011 | [20] | |
Ruins of León Viejo | Department of León, Nicaragua 12°23′50″N86°36′37″W / 12.39722°N 86.61028°W | Puerto Momotombo, Municipality La Paz Centro, Cultural: (iii), (iv) | — | 2000 | [21] | ||
Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park | San José, Cartago, Limón and Puntarenas Provinces, Costa Rica*; Bocas del Toro and Chiriquí Provinces, Panama* 9°24′26″N82°56′20″W / 9.40722°N 82.93889°W | Natural: (vii), (viii), (ix), (x) | 567,845 (1,403,180) | 1983 [nb 4] | [22] [23] | ||
Tikal National Park | Petén Department, Guatemala 17°13′N89°37′W / 17.217°N 89.617°W | Mixed: (i), (iii), (iv), (ix), (x) | 57,600 (142,000) | 1979 | [24] | ||
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It is one of the most important sites of the Mayan civilization, which were not excavated until the 19th century. The ruined citadel and imposing public squares reveal the three main stages of development before the city was abandoned in the early 10th century.
Quiriguá (Spanish pronunciation:[kiɾiˈɣwa]) is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi) along the lower Motagua River, with the ceremonial center about 1 km (0.6 mi) from the north bank. During the Maya Classic Period (AD 200–900), Quiriguá was situated at the juncture of several important trade routes. The site was occupied by 200, construction on the acropolis had begun by about 550, and an explosion of grander construction started in the 8th century. All construction had halted by about 850, except for a brief period of reoccupation in the Early Postclassic (c. 900 – c. 1200). Quiriguá shares its architectural and sculptural styles with the nearby Classic Period city of Copán, with whose history it is closely entwined.
Uaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil, was the 13th ajaw or ruler of the powerful Maya polity associated with the site of Copán in modern Honduras. He ruled from January 2, 695, to May 3, 738.
As of January 2024, there are a total of 1,199 World Heritage Sites located across 168 countries, of which 933 are cultural, 227 are natural, and 39 are mixed properties. The countries have been divided by the World Heritage Committee into five geographical zones: Africa, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. With 59 selected areas, Italy is the country with the most sites; followed by China with 57, then France and Germany with 52 each.
The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two countries.
Panamá Viejo, also known as Panamá la Vieja, is the remaining part of the original Panama City, the former capital of Panama, which was destroyed in 1671 by the Welsh privateer Henry Morgan. It is located in the suburbs of the current capital. Together with the historical district of Panamá, it has been a World Heritage Site since 1997.
The Gringo Trail refers to a string of the Latin American places most often visited by "gringos", North Americans, Europeans, Australasians, other budget travellers and also vice tourists.
Maya stelae are monuments that were fashioned by the Maya civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. They consist of tall, sculpted stone shafts and are often associated with low circular stones referred to as altars, although their actual function is uncertain. Many stelae were sculpted in low relief, although plain monuments are found throughout the Maya region. The sculpting of these monuments spread throughout the Maya area during the Classic Period, and these pairings of sculpted stelae and circular altars are considered a hallmark of Classic Maya civilization. The earliest dated stela to have been found in situ in the Maya lowlands was recovered from the great city of Tikal in Guatemala. During the Classic Period almost every Maya kingdom in the southern lowlands raised stelae in its ceremonial centre.
The La Amistad International Park, or in Spanish Parque Internacional La Amistad, formerly the La Amistad National Park, is a transboundary protected area in Latin America, management of which is shared between Costa Rica and Panama, following a recommendation by UNESCO after the park's inclusion in the World Heritage Site list in 1983. The park and surrounding biosphere reserve is one of the most outstanding conservation areas in Central America, preserving a major tract of tropical forest wilderness. It is world-renowned for its extraordinary biodiversity and endemism.
Tourism in Panama represents one of Panama‘s main activities. The main areas of tourism in the country focus on business tourism, beaches, health and trade. Most of the tourists come from the United States, Canada, Europe, Central America, and South America. Tourism generates profits of approximately US$1,400 million annually. This figure has increased rapidly since the millionth tourist arrived in 2004. There were 2 million tourists in 2011.