Travel to Monterrico & Pacific Coast

Monterrico is a small fishing village on Guatemala’s Pacific coast, sitting on a narrow strip of black volcanic sand separated from the mainland by the Canal de Chiquimulilla. The black sand is characteristic of Guatemala’s entire Pacific coast—volcanic material from the highland chain has washed downstream through the Motagua and other river systems and deposited along the shore. The beach stretches in essentially straight lines in both directions from the village, with powerful Pacific surf and a largely empty shoreline beyond the central area.

The village was originally a fishing settlement and retains that character despite growing tourism. Access is only by ferry from La Avellana—there is no vehicular bridge across the Canal de Chiquimulilla—which gives Monterrico an island-like isolation that defines its atmosphere. Weekend and public holiday arrivals from Guatemala City shift the character substantially; weekday visits are significantly quieter. The Biotopo Monterrico-Hawaii reserve, administered by CECON (Universidad de San Carlos), provides the conservation framework for the beach and wetland systems surrounding the village.

Three species of sea turtle nest on Monterrico’s black sand beach: the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea)—the world’s largest sea turtle—the olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). Nesting runs from June through December; the peak for leatherback and olive ridley arrivals is August and September. Female turtles come ashore at night to dig nests and deposit eggs; the beach is patrolled nightly by CECON staff and local monitors during the season.

Incubation periods differ by species: olive ridley eggs hatch in approximately 50 days; leatherback eggs require 70–72 days. Hatchling releases from the Tortugario take place at sunset nightly during the September–January active period. Approximately 5,000 hatchlings are released from the CECON hatchery each year. An informal conservation agreement between CECON and local egg collectors—hueveros—allows collectors to sell a portion of each clutch while donating a minimum number to the hatchery. The ethical tensions of this arrangement reflect the broader challenge of conservation in communities where egg sales represent significant income. Leatherback arrivals have declined dramatically in recent decades.

The Tortugario Monterrico is the CECON (Universidad de San Carlos) conservation station at the heart of Monterrico village. Established in 1981, it operates a sea turtle egg hatchery where eggs collected from the beach are reburied in protective enclosures. The station also maintains enclosures for caimans and green iguanas bred for release into the wild. An interpretive trail and small natural history museum document the reserve’s ecology and conservation program. CECON staff offer guided night walks (August–December) to observe nesting females—lighting protocols are strictly enforced.

The informal agreement between CECON and local hueveros (egg collectors) is a distinctive feature of the Monterrico model. Collectors are permitted to sell a portion of each clutch while donating a minimum number to the hatchery. The conservation ethics of this compromise are genuinely contested, but the model acknowledges economic reality in a coastal community where egg collection has been a livelihood for generations. Baby turtle releases take place at sunset in front of the Tortugario, September–January.