La Tigra National Park, Mountainous national park in Francisco Morazán Department, Honduras.
La Tigra is a cloud forest area in Francisco Morazán that spreads across wooded mountain slopes and deep valleys. Visitors find two separate entrance areas that open different routes through the dense greenery.
La Tigra has been protected since the early 1920s, when the weirs of Jutiapa were built to draw its water. It became Honduras's first national park on 1 January 1980 under decree No. 976-80, with conservation and the maintenance of its hydrological potential as its stated aims.
The name La Tigra is commonly linked to jaguars, though the sources document no confirmed population in the park. What visitors can count on is birdlife: over 200 species, migratory and resident, in 39 families. Avocado trees, the quetzal's main food source, grow among oaks, pines and ceibos, the tree held sacred by the Maya.
Hikers can choose between short walks and longer routes that take several hours through forest and over ridges. Mist often drifts across the trails, so an extra layer of clothing helps against the dampness and chill.
The park's water has been protected since the early 1920s, and the weirs of Jutiapa are the surviving proof of that early conservation. The cloud forest now supplies more than 30% of Tegucigalpa's water needs and all of the needs of the bordering communities.
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