Reserva de Biósfera Sierra de las Minas

Sierra de las Minas is considered an irreplaceable seed bank for reforestation and agroforestry in the tropics. It is also the habitat of more than 1,690 species of flora and the largest cloud forest in Central America, which represents the largest area of habitat still existing in the country for the Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno), the national bird of Guatemala.

In Sierra de las Minas, there is the cloud forest, which occupies 5% of the national territory and has a cloud cover or mobile fog. Because of the close dependence on humidity, these forests are particularly vulnerable to climatic changes, and are essential for water supply and water quality and maintain the flows of rivers originated, contain a high biological diversity, including endangered and endemic species. The soils are covered with a great diversity of mosses and ferns and are usually swampy in nature, with a predominance of peat and humus. Flowers of the orchid type are also abundant.