List of World Heritage Sites in Central America

This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Central America.

Legend Site; as per officially inscribed name Location; at city, regional, or provincial level and geocoordinates Criteria; as defined by the World Heritage Committee Area; in hectares and acres. If available, the size of the buffer zone has been noted as well. A value of zero implies that no data has been published by UNESCO Year; during which the site was inscribed to the World Heritage List Description; brief information about the site, including reasons for qualifying as an endangered site, if applicable

World Heritage Sites

Site Image Location Criteria Areaha (acre) Year Description Refs Tikal National Park GuatemalaPetén Department, i, iii, iv, ix, x (mixed) 1979 Antigua Guatemala GuatemalaSacatepéquez Department, ii, iii, iv (cultural) 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. HondurasCopán Department, iv, vi (cultural) ; buffer zone 1980 Image is of Maya stelae H from Copán in Honduras Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo † PanamaColón Province, i, iv (cultural) —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. GuatemalaIzabal Department, i, ii, iv (cultural) —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. Darien National Park PanamaDarién Province, vii, ix, x (natural) 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 Guna live in the property. Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve† HondurasLa Mosquitia, vii, viii, ix, x (natural) 1982 Endangered since 2011 Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park Costa RicaSan José, Cartago, Limón and Puntarenas Provinces, *; Bocas del Toro and Chiriquí Provinces, * vii, viii, ix, x (natural) 1983Modification of boundaries in 1990 to exclude areas that are not of outstanding universal value and to include the extended Chirripó and Talamanca National Parks. Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site La Libertad Department, iii, iv (cultural) —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. Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System BelizeBelize, Stann Creek and Toledo districts, vii, ix, x (natural) 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. Panamá Province, ii, iv, vi (cultural) 1997Extended in 2003 to include the archaeological site of Panamá Viejo and name change from Historic District of Panamá, with the Salón Bolivar, Panama to the present name. 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. Cocos Island National Park Costa RicaPuntarenas Province, ix, x (natural) 1997Extension of the park's marine zone in 2002. 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. Costa RicaGuanacaste and Alajuela provinces, ix, x (natural) 1999Extended in 2004 to include the sector Santa Elena. 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. León Department, iii, iv (cultural) —2000 Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection PanamaVeraguas and Chiriquí provinces, ix, x (natural) 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. León Cathedral NicaraguaLeón Department, ii, iv (cultural) ; buffer zone 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. iii (cultural) ; buffer zone 2014 National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj GuatemalaRetalhuleu Department, ii, iii (cultural) 2023 Archaeological site with the transition from the Olmec civilization to the emergence of Early Mayan culture.

Location of sites

List of World Heritage Sites in Central America

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