Where to see
Ara macao
Carara National Park leads · 16 parks ranked by real sighting rates
Share of wildlife watchers reporting a Scarlet Macaw during a day in the park, from citizen-science data (GBIF)
| # | Park | Country | Sighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Tambopata National Reserve | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 6 | Yasuní National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 7 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 9 | Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇧🇿 Belize | |
| 10 | Coiba National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 11 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Celaque National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 13 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 14 | Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 15 | Amacayacu National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 16 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Carara National Park
In Carara National Park, Costa Rica, about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Scarlet Macaw sighting on a given day, the highest of the 16 parks where we can rate it, from GBIF citizen-science data.
Corcovado National Park and more
After Carara National Park, the next-best odds of seeing a Scarlet Macaw are in Corcovado National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%), Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 60%) and Marino Ballena National Park (Costa Rica, about 60%). Outside Central America, the best options are Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in North America (about 60%) and Tambopata National Reserve in South America (about 40%).
It depends on the park
In the top parks, the best months are January to April in Carara National Park (about 90%), March and April in Corcovado National Park (about 80%) and March–April, July and December–January in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (about 70%), as the share of wildlife watchers who report a Scarlet Macaw on a given day. Each park's Scarlet Macaw page has the full month-by-month chart.
