Laguna del Tigre National Park, National park in Petén, Guatemala

Laguna del Tigre National Park is Guatemala's largest protected area, located in the northwest of the country near the Mexican border, in the Petén department. It holds the biggest freshwater wetland in Mesoamerica, combining large lagoons, flooded grasslands, and areas of tropical forest.

The park's wetlands were designated a Ramsar Site in 1990, placing them among the most important freshwater zones in the region. Since the 1970s, waves of settlement, illegal logging, and oil exploration have steadily changed parts of the land.

The park's name comes from the lagoon within it, and the wider Maya Biosphere Reserve core zone is shared with a biotope of the same name. Since the 1990s, civil groups in Petén have organized to denounce the environmental impact of oil extraction at the Xan field, whose wells sit inside the protected area.

The park's vast wetlands flood periodically, so the dry months are the safer window for moving through the savannas and transition forest. Access roads opened for oil operations reach the Xan field area, but the final approach to the lagoons often needs a sturdy vehicle or a boat. The site is listed on the Ramsar Montreux Register of threatened wetlands, so check current conditions before setting out.

The park contains the archaeological site of Perú-Waka', an ancient Maya city once linked to other cities by river routes and still largely unexcavated beneath the jungle. Night hikes along the trails offer a real chance of spotting jaguars, which rarely show themselves during the day.