Reservoirs in the heart of an ancient Maya city were so polluted with mercury and algae that the water likely was undrinkable.
Source: Ancient Maya reservoirs contained toxic pollution: study
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but some of it fell in one.
Source: Exploring These Lost Cities Is The Closest You’ll Get to Time Travel
There’s no shortage of amazing things to do in Guatemala, including volcano hikes, ancient Mayan ruins, and swimming in Lake Atitlan.
Source: Top 10 Things To Do In Guatemala
A witness told them off but said they became upset and seemed to be offended.
Source: Utter scumbags carve their initials into walls of 1,300-year-old temple
The men scratched ‘A&P’ into the wall of a temple in Tikal National Park, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 to preserve pre-colonial culture…
The mere mention of Guatemala is enough to get many a traveller’s imaginations in full flight, and rightly so too. On the one hand, it’s home to a beguiling ancient culture – Guatemala has still managed…
Source: Guatemala Travel: 13 Amazing Mayan Ruins You HAVE To Visit!
Tikal National Park in Guatemala The ancient temples found in Tikal National Park are arguably…
Source: 20 Photos that will inspire you to visit Tikal National Park, Guatemala
Guatemala – Tikal National Park
We walked down the dirt path, no sounds except that of our footfall and the birds calling in the tree canopy high above us.
The jungle was clearly master of the land here in Guatemala, and its untamed force was making its inexorable way toward once again taking over the path, and everything else around it.
We came into a sudden clearing, where the sunlight fell more freely into the forest and there it was: the first of the Mayan pyramid ruins we would see that day.
This was one of the smaller temples that had been excavated and was known as Temple VI. It was largely unearthed, with the steps revealed and cleared away only at one side.
A climb to the top of those steps would yield the first views over the vast complex that was once the thriving, prosperous Mayan city of Tikal in northern Guatemala.
Read more from source: Guatemala: Channeling Indiana Jones at Tikal – GoNOMAD Travel
Guatemala – Tikal National Park
On 2/17/18, after a weeklong visit to the American School of Guatemala, I day-tripped from Guatemala City to what some call the historical highlight of Guatemala: the ruins of a Mayan city now called Tikal, part of a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. (How long it remains the highlight remains to be seen. Mere weeks earlier, it was announced that archeologists using LiDAR discovered an immense stretch of ruins—a megalopolis—not far from Tikal.)
My hotel was about 10 minutes from the airport. My (domestic) flight was at 6:30 am. Oddly, the tour company set my pickup for 3:30 am. I asked for leniency but the latest they would agree to was 4 am. Sure enough, there was a slow-moving, 15-person line at check-in, but even so, I was done by 5 a.m. That left 90 minutes to fill…assuming the flight departed on time.
Which, surprise, it didn’t. My flight number was 110 but turns out three flights were scheduled to leave GC for Flores (the airport closest to Tikal) at 6:30, out of the same gate but with different (unannounced) flight numbers.
Guatemala – Tikal National Park
If there’s that one thing that travellers learn the most about while visiting different parts of the world, it is history. After all, it is the many tales, the great deeds of men and the mysteries attached to a destination that often attract travellers to places that are ancient. Apart from the knowledge associated to them, another thing that attracts travellers to these amazing heritage sites around the world are the architectural finesse with which they were built. Right from the structures to the building materials, some of these sites stand out to be no less than marvels. While we usually relate to places like the Eiffel Tower in Paris or even the Colosseum in Rome, when the discussion is about the best heritage sites around the world, there are some really amazing ancient sites around the world that are lesser-known.
Guatemala – Tikal National Park
Visit the incredible ancient city of Tikal on this day trip from San Ignacio. Once a powerful city center during the Classic Mayan period, today Tikal is a UNESCO World Heritage site that draws scores of visitors each year. Your professional guide will take you across the border into Tikal National Park in Guatemala and lead you on a fascinating tour of the sprawling archaeological complex. Round-trip transport from your San Ignacio hotel and all park fees are included. Highlights Day trip to Tikal from San Ignacio Visit Tikal National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site Tour the ruins of Tikal with a professional and informative guide Learn about the Mayans who built one of the largest archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian world Round-trip hotel transport by comfortable coach included
What You Can Expect.
Guatemala – Tikal National Park
Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Colombian Mayan civilization. It is our 8th stop in the series Journeys to Discovery.
Located in the archaeological region of the Peten Basin in northern Guatemala, this thriving cosmopolitan city, would be rediscovered in the mid 19th century. It had been completely covered by the jungle for centuries.
Tikal is situated in the department of El Peten. Today, the site is part of Guatemala’s Tikal National Park and as of 1979, was declared aUNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tikal was the capital city of one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Mayan civilization.
Although there is impressive architectural structures that can be dated as far back as the 4thcentury BCE, Tikal would reach the height of its power and influence, during the centuries stretching from 200 to 900 CE.
Guatemala – Tikal National Park
At my feet, the name “Lucio” is marked atop a dirt grave but I doubt he’s RIP right now. I’m in a rural cemetery in Guatemala, encircled by a kaleidoscope of colossal five-story-tall kites and throngs of festive mourners. They’re using the fluttering tissue-paper conduits to communicate with the dead. Firecrackers explode and onlookers raucously cheer as multicolored mosaic-like kites — too huge to fly — are hoisted upright by strong young men at the All Saints Day Kite Festival.
It is an extraordinary age-old spiritual spectacle. Guatemala is the only country in the world that on the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead-Nov. 1), launches dazzling hand-made kites hoping to coax ancestors briefly back to Earth.
Just walking up here is lively enough.
Guatemala – Tikal National Park
Guatemala’s variety of landscape and villages has much to offer to visitors. It strikes the right balance between providing sufficient accommodation to fulfill the needs of tourists, while still maintaining much of the natural beauty that the land has to offer. With some locations designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, you can be sure that Guatemala’s rich history has many stories behind the places you visit.
There are many ruins to see in Central America but if you want the most grandiose, then Tikal is the place. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in the northern region of Guatemala. Depending on where you are, it may even make more sense to visit by crossing the border from Belize or Mexico. If you are stationed in the heart of Guatemala, like Antigua, you can easily book tour there.
Guatemala – Tikal National Park
From the top of a Maya pyramid, the view of the jungle and other pyramids was something I had imagined other adventure travelers witnessing, not me. But I was here with the help of encouraging guides and a man-made staircase alongside the ancient structure. It was from this vantage point that George Lucas filmed scenes for his first Star Wars movie in 1977.
I sat for a long time taking in the magic of the moment. Magic is actually a perfect word for Guatemala, the Maya Culture and Tikal National Park located almost 200 miles north of Guatemala City. Visiting the ruins of the ancient city was one of many Maya discoveries I made with Bella Guatemala Travel, a California-based tour company specializing in Guatemala culture, history, and natural beauty.
