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^[1]

Location; at city, regional, or provincial level and geocoordinates

Criteria; as defined by the World Heritage Committee^[2]

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	Area ha (acre)	Year	Description	Refs
Antigua Guatemala		GuatemalaSacatepéquez Department,  Guatemala 14°34′N 90°40′W / 14.567°N 90.667°W / 14.567; -90.667 (Antigua Guatemala)	Cultural: (ii), (iii), (iv)	49 (120)	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.	[3]
Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua		GuatemalaIzabal Department,  Guatemala 15°16′14″N 89°2′25″W / 15.27056°N 89.04028°W / 15.27056; -89.04028 (Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua)	Cultural: (i), (ii), (iv)	—	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.	[4]
Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá		PanamaPanamá District, Panamá Province,  Panama 9°00′24″N 79°29′06″W / 9.00667°N 79.48500°W / 9.00667; -79.48500 (Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá)	Cultural: (ii), (iv), (vi)	57 (140)	1997 [nb 1]	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.	[5] [6]
Area de Conservación Guanacaste		Costa RicaGuanacaste and Alajuela Provinces,  Costa Rica 10°51′N 85°37′W / 10.850°N 85.617°W / 10.850; -85.617 (Area de Conservación Guanacaste)	Natural: (ix), (x)	147,000 (360,000)	1999 [nb 2]	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.	[7]
Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System		BelizeBelize, Stann Creek and Toledo Districts,  Belize 17°19′N 87°32′W / 17.317°N 87.533°W / 17.317; -87.533 (Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System)	Natural: (vii), (ix), (x)	96,300 (238,000)	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.	[8] [9]
Cocos Island National Park		Costa RicaPuntarenas Province,  Costa Rica 5°32′N 87°4′W / 5.533°N 87.067°W / 5.533; -87.067 (Cocos Island National Park)	Natural: (ix), (x)	199,790 (493,700)	1997 [nb 3]	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.	[10] [11]
Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection		PanamaVeraguas and Chiriquí Provinces,  Panama 7°26′N 81°46′W / 7.433°N 81.767°W / 7.433; -81.767 (Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection)	Natural: (ix), (x)	270,125 (667,490)	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.	[12]
Darien National Park		PanamaDarién Province,  Panama 7°44′N 77°33′W / 7.733°N 77.550°W / 7.733; -77.550 (Darien National Park)	Natural: (vii), (ix), (x)	597,000 (1,480,000)	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 Kuna live in the property.	[13]
Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo †		PanamaColón Province,  Panama 9°33′14″N 79°39′21″W / 9.55389°N 79.65583°W / 9.55389; -79.65583 (Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo)	Cultural: (i), (iv)	—	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.	[14]
Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site		El SalvadorOpico, La Libertad Department,  El Salvador 13°49′39″N 89°22′9″W / 13.82750°N 89.36917°W / 13.82750; -89.36917 (Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site)	Cultural: (iii), (iv)	—	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.	[15]
León Cathedral		NicaraguaLeón  Nicaragua 12°26′06″N 86°52′41″W / 12.43500°N 86.87806°W / 12.43500; -86.87806 (León Cathedral)	Cultural: (ii), (iv)	0.77 (1.9); buffer zone 13 (32)	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.	[16]
Maya Site of Copan		HondurasCopán Department,  Honduras 14°51′0″N 89°8′0″W / 14.85000°N 89.13333°W / 14.85000; -89.13333 (Maya Site of Copan)	Cultural: (iv), (vi)	15.095 (37.30); buffer zone 258.365 (638.43)	1980	Image is of Maya stelae H from Copán in Honduras	[17]
National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj		GuatemalaRetalhuleu Department,  Guatemala 14°38′19″N 91°42′57″W / 14.63861°N 91.71583°W / 14.63861; -91.71583 (Tak’alik Ab’aj)	Cultural: (ii), (iii)	14.88 (36.8)	2023	Archaeological site that that the transition from the Olmec civilization to the emergence of Early Mayan culture.	[18]
Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís		Palmar Sur,  Costa Rica 8°54′41″N 83°28′39″W / 8.911389°N 83.477500°W / 8.911389; -83.477500 (Precolumbian chiefdom settlements with stone spheres of the Diquís)	Cultural: (iii)	6,172 (15,250); buffer zone 6,080 (15,000)	2014		[19]
Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve†		HondurasLa Mosquitia,  Honduras 15°44′40″N 84°40′30″W / 15.74444°N 84.67500°W / 15.74444; -84.67500 (Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve)	Natural: (vii), (viii), (ix), (x)	500,000 (1,200,000)	1982	Endangered since 2011	[20]
Ruins of León Viejo		NicaraguaPuerto Momotombo, Municipality La Paz Centro, Department of León,  Nicaragua 12°23′50″N 86°36′37″W / 12.39722°N 86.61028°W / 12.39722; -86.61028 (Ruins of León Viejo)	Cultural: (iii), (iv)	—	2000		[21]
Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park		Costa RicaSan José, Cartago, Limón and Puntarenas Provinces,  Costa Rica*; Bocas del Toro and Chiriquí Provinces,  Panama* 9°24′26″N 82°56′20″W / 9.40722°N 82.93889°W / 9.40722; -82.93889 (Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park)	Natural: (vii), (viii), (ix), (x)	567,845 (1,403,180)	1983 [nb 4]		[22] [23]
Tikal National Park		GuatemalaPetén Department,  Guatemala 17°13′N 89°37′W / 17.217°N 89.617°W / 17.217; -89.617 (Tikal National Park)	Mixed: (i), (iii), (iv), (ix), (x)	57,600 (142,000)	1979		[24]

Location of sites

Antigua Guatemala

Quirigua

Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá

Guanacaste

Belize Barrier Reef

Cocos Island

Coiba N.P.

Darien N.P.

Caribbean Fortifications

Joya de Cerén

Léon Cathedral

Copán

Stone Spheres

León Viejo

Río Plátano

Talamanca - La Amistad

Tikal

Tak’alik Ab’aj

Location of World Heritage Sites in Central America

See also

• Lists of World Heritage Sites

Notes

References

General

• "World Heritage Committee: Twenty-ninth session" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
• "World Heritage Committee: Thirtieth session" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
• "World Heritage Committee: Thirty-first session" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
• "World Heritage Committee: Thirty-third session" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
• "World Heritage Committee: Thirty-fourth session" (PDF). UNESCO. Retrieved 26 June 2011.

Notes

External links

• UNESCO World Heritage Centre official website
• UNESCO World Heritage List official website
• VRheritage.org – documentation of World Heritage Sites
• Worldheritage-Forum – Information and weblog on World Heritage issues

This page was last edited on 28 January 2024, at 11:27