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On the main highway towards Alta Verapaz and Coban, the road sweeps around endless tight curves below forested hillsides. Just before the village of Purulha (Km 161) is the Biotopo del Quetzal (daily 7am-4pm; US$3.85), an 11.5-square-kilometre nature reserve designed to protect the habitat of the endangered bird. The forest is also known as the Mario Dary Reserve in honour of one of the founders of Guatemala's environmental movement, Mario Dary, a lecturer from San Carlos University in Guatemala City, who pioneered the establishment of nature reserves in Guatemala and campaigned for years for a cloudforest sanctuary to protect the quetzal - he was murdered in 1981, possibly as a result of his upsetting powerful timber interests. The reserve he instituted comprises steep and dense rain- and cloudforest, pierced by waterfalls, natural pools and the Rio Colorado, which cascades through the reserve towards the valley floor. Paths through the undergrowth from the road complete a circuit that takes you up into the woods and around above the reserve headquarters (from where you can get maps). There are reasonable numbers of quetzals hidden in the forest but they're extremely elusive. The best time to visit is at sunrise, just before or just after nesting season (March-June). A favoured feeding tree is the broad-leaved aguacatillo , which produces a small avocado-like fruit. Whether or not you see a quetzal, the forest itself, usually damp with a perpetual mist the locals call chipi-chipi , is well worth a visit: a profusion of lichens, ferns, mosses, bromeliads and orchids, spread out beneath a towering canopy of cypress, oak, walnut and pepper trees. Less than a kilometre or so past the entrance to the reserve is the rustic Hospedaje Ranchito del Quetzal (tel 953 9235; US$5-15), where you can stay in clean basic rooms with or without private bath; there's also a simple comedor, though the menu is usually limited to eggs and beans. Quetzals are often seen in the patch of forest around the hotel; staff sometimes insist on charging an entrance fee even if you just want to come in and look around for birds. For something more luxurious try the Hotel Posada Montana del Quetzal at Km 156.5 (tel 331 0929, www.medianet.com.gt/quetzal ; US$25-60), which has very attractive stone and timber bungalows containing pleasant rooms with fireplaces, warm private showers and great forest views - there's also a restaurant, bar and swimming pool. Buses from Coban pass the entrance every thirty minutes, but make sure they know you want to be dropped at the reserve, as it's easy to miss.
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