Guides

Our team includes guides certified by the Federal Secretariat of Tourism, fluent English, Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese speakers, biologists, tourism specialists, and trained educators. Each have their own specialty and superpower that make their tour experiences unique.

Every one of us has a genuine passion for birds and the biodiversity of Mexico and our home state, Chiapas.

Valente Gonzalez

TOUR LEADER and GUIDE

Superpower:
Owl ears!

Valente, born in San Cristóbal de las Casas, got his first pair of binoculars at 7 years old. Recording bird sounds in his garden as a child and learning their calls, Valente has been in love with birding ever since. As such, his knowledge of Chiapas's birds, their niches, and secret habitats, is unrivalled in Mexico.

With perfect English, Spanish, and Dutch, he is a wise and extremely capable pair of hands on our Chiapas birding adventures. Trained as an industrial ecologist at the TU Delft in the Netherlands, he also runs a parallel career producing green technologies in the form of sustainable bio-briquettes.

Eric Lopez Villanueva

FOUNDER and GUIDE

Superpower:
Bridging cultures

Eric was born in Acacoyagua, Chiapas, Mexico, and studied alternative tourism in San Cristóbal de las Casas at the UNICH. He started birding in 2008 and has, since then, been involved with birds in Chiapas as a guide, environmental educator, and field biologist monitoring the Horned Guan and Resplendent Quetzal.

Eric specializes in establishing contact with local communities in and around the Acacoyagua area, engaging them in conservation and monitoring efforts, and collaborating with them on Sabes Aves projects.

Benedict Simmons

TOUR LEADER and GUIDE

Superpower:
Rarity magnet

Benedict, born in London, England, first discovered birding through his dad's binoculars, looking at a Golden-headed Tanager in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. Having lived in Latin America since 2011, he has worked as a guide in Villa Mills, Costa Rica, and San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico, introducing nature lovers to the world of birding.

As a fluent English, Spanish, and Portuguese speaker, and student of Natural Sciences and Biology at the Open University in the United Kingdom, he helps lead our tours, bridging the gap between our English-speaking guests and Mexican people and culture.

Follow our YouTube series:

Watch as our guides travel across Mexico in search of every last bird — contemplating life, sharing bad jokes, and chasing those rares calls in the distance.

Finding every bird in Mexico

Eco-conscious guiding - our tours are genuinely different.

We aim to showcase Chiapas's stunning natural and cultural diversity in an ethically responsible way, prioritizing conservation of the birdlife that we and our guests treasure so much, while also maintaining our guests' safety and comfort. That's why we aim to minimize the use of playback and other practices that may impact the birdlife on our trips.

We aim for minimal plastic usage on our trips and provide as many healthy food options as possible.

Our birdwatching tours in Mexico focus on areas we are deeply familiar with as guides. We are constantly communicating with local people at all of our destinations to provide the safest and most intimate experience with our local flora, fauna, birdlife and cultures.

Birding in the jungles, mountains, and beaches of Chiapas can be an amazing adventure, but we know that small details can make your trip all the more enjoyable the difference. So we do our utmost to ensure the comfort of our guests, with comfortable accommodation, smooth transportation, and an emphasis on flexibility while communicating any changes to schedules.

Ultimately, we want to provide memorable experiences to our clients that impact their lives in terms of caring for our planet and its birds, and leave them with a positive lasting impression of Mexico.