Nestled in the jungle of northern Guatemala, hide the remains of one of the largest Mayan civilizations ever to exist. Tikal was inhabited from the 6th century BCE to the 10th Century CE. After it was abandoned, the jungle swallowed up this great city. Steep, awe-inspiring, limestone temples that have been uncovered and reconstructed rise up from the green vegetation. Many more temples are still hidden under the jungle.
We spent a little under 48 hours in Tikal National Park. Below is our experience and a few recommendations for your own trip.
Day 1:
We boarded a mid-morning flight from Guatemala City to the Santa Elena airport (the town connected to Flores). From here, a shuttle sent by our accommodation picked us up. The 1+ hour journey transported us to the Jungle Lodge located within Tikal National Park. After sorting out our entry tickets at the gate, we checked into our room, had lunch, and took a long nap as we were exhausted from the previous day of travel. The real adventure would start the following morning.
Day 2:
At 6 am, as the sky began to lighten, we followed the dark jungle trail to the ruins of Tikal. The strange calls of jungle birds rang out all around us. A light, mystical fog filled the air, creating mirage-like first views of the Main Plaza.
Before we had the chance to take in the giant structures around us, a rustling in a nearby tree at the edge of the plaza distracted us. Lanky spider monkeys climbed and jumped between branches! Watching them clamor around the tree was a delight. Eventually we wandered away to explore the temples and other structures within the plaza, but shortly thereafter we spotted at least 20 small mammals running down the hill and up that same bushy tree. They were a big troupe of coatis including a bunch of cute baby coatis! They clambered up the tree to join the spider monkeys and then shook the branches, dropping something to the ground. The coatis scrambled down the tree trunk, back to the ground, and gobbled up the treats they had just freed from the branches.
Once we pulled ourselves away from the cute jungle critters, the towering temples had their chance to mesmerize us. Temple 1 (The Temple of the Grand Jaguar) commands the most attention in the Great Plaza. It was constructed by one of Tikal’s greatest rulers and he was buried inside the temple. It was built between 682 and 734 CE and faces west and the setting sun. This is unusual as most temples face the rising sun in the east. The tomb has 9 layers, corresponding to the 9 levels of the Mayan underworld. The stairs up the temple are incredibly steep and tourists are not allowed to climb up the temple anymore.
Across the flat courtyard stands Temple 2 (The Temple of the Masks). It is almost as tall as Temple 1 and was constructed by the same great ruler. Temple 2 was built in honor of his wife. You are allowed to climb up the wooden staircase built behind the structure to near the top of Temple 2 for a nice view over the plaza.
Many other structures line the sides of the plaza. While not as tall and eye-drawing as Temples 1 and 2, they are still impressive. Remains of palaces are on the south edge. Older temples, constructed long before Temples 1 and 2 form the North Acropolis and are on the north side of the Great Plaza.
Wandering further into the forest beyond Temple 2, you eventually see just the top of a temple sticking out of the thick jungle high above. This is all you can see of Temple 3 as the rest is still covered in dirt and plants, not yet excavated. Temple 3 was built around 810 CE.
We soon found ourselves in the Mundo Perdido (Lost World) Complex. Mundo Perdido consists of 38 structures which were mostly created between 250 BCE – 150 CE. The highlight here is the Great Pyramid and its view, which we also visited on our sunset tour later that same day (photo under sunset tour paragraph).
Nearby, the Plaza of the Seven Temples is named after the seven temples lined up along the east side of the plaza. This area also had three ball courts, which is a unique finding. Most Mayan cities have only single courts. These ball courts are not yet excavated but with the use of LiDAR technology, archeologists know they are here hidden below the ground.
After a few hours wandering on our own in the quiet morning, we returned to our nearby jungle lodge to relax and take advantage of the pool.
Sunset Tour
We returned to Tikal at 3 pm with a sunset tour guide. Tikal had few tourists in the later portion of the day and the mist had all disappeared. Now the Great Plaza structures were clearly visible with blue skies above. We again saw lots of animals and had a guide to point out hidden birds, snakes, and spiders. Our guide took us to various sections of the site and shared some history of Tikal and the Maya civilization.
The following pictures are some of the structures and birds we saw during our sunset tour.
The sunset tour concluded with watching the sun set over Tikal. We climbed the stairs to the top of the Great Pyramid of the Mundo Perdido (Lost World) Complex. The Great Pyramid was built to observe the stars and solar cycles, so it is a tall temple with a flat top. The Great Pyramid is an incredible spot to look out over the jungle. You can see the tops of Temples 1, 2, 3, and 4 sticking out above the canopy. Once the sun dropped below the horizon, we climbed back down and slowly made our way back to the lodge. The sunset tour concluded at 7 pm. We had dinner and put ourselves to bed early to prepare for the next day.
Day 3:
The following morning we woke up at 3:30 am for our sunrise tour. As we got dressed, a howler monkey started calling. The call of a howler monkey is just crazy. They sound more like what you would imagine the roar of a dinosaur to be than what you would expect from a primate. Their howl is loud and the sound carries for miles. After 10-15 minutes, the monkey seemed to realize it was too early to be up and returned to silence.
We met our guide just before 4:00 am and walked into the consuming darkness of the forest. The guide discussed more history of the Mayan civilization and their use of astronomy. We saw some structures along the way, but in the dark I wasn’t getting a great sense of the temples and surroundings. We arrived at Temple 4 long before sunrise and climbed the many stairs to the top. Temple 4 is the tallest temple in Tikal (thought to be the tallest structure ever built by the ancient Maya) and the go-to place to watch the jungle awaken. Once at the top, we sat in silence on the ancient steps and looked out over the vast, still forest. It was very tranquil sitting in silence, but became a bit boring as it was over an hour before the jungle began to stir.
The howler monkeys were the first to wake in the quiet jungle. Gazing out over the few temple tops that rise above the canopy, the haunting roar of the howler monkeys echoed across the expansive forest below us. Two groups started calling back and forth from far sides of the jungle. Eventually birds began to call below us as well, but they were still pretty quiet when we finally left. Listening to the howler monkeys was awesome. However, I would not recommend the sunrise tour. After leaving Temple 4, there wasn’t a lot of time to see the rest of Tikal in the light before our tour needed to return to the lodge.
Back at the lodge, we ate breakfast, packed up, and relaxed for our last couple of hours. We found a couple of howler monkeys near the lodge and finally got a view to go with the roar. We left on an 11 am shuttle from our lodge which took us to the Santa Elena bus station. Here we boarded a local bus to the Belizean border to start the next part of our adventure.
Recommendations:
Where to stay:
I would strongly recommend the Jungle Lodge which offers both a hotel and a hostel on the grounds. This place is the closest you can sleep to the Tikal Temples. We stayed in the hotel which was spacious and very comfortable. There is a nice restaurant, cute bar, refreshing pool, and it is immersed in the jungle. Only the Jungle Lodge and two other lodges reside within the grounds of Tikal National Park. The others are Hotel Tikal Inn and Hotel Jaguar Inn. The biggest benefit to staying at one of these accommodations is that you are able to walk out of your room and towards the temples right at 6 am instead of having to take the bus in from the town of Flores which is over an hour away. It is really easy to spend a few hours exploring the ruins in the quiet morning, take a break during the busy and hot portion of the day, and then return in the quieter evening.
When to enter the park:
Since day tours come from the town of Flores and from the neighboring country of Belize, the park is likely to be much busier in the middle of the day rather than early or late. Tikal was extremely quiet from 6am to 9am and also from 3pm to 7pm. This also lets you avoid the mid-day heat. The ability to get in and out easily on your own is a great reason to stay in a lodge within the national park.
Tours:
I would recommend taking at least one tour but also allowing yourself a few hours (minimum) to wander around on your own.
The sunset tour was great as it was during a quiet, less hot portion of the day. Also, the first few hours are spent seeing structures and learning about Tikal with good lighting. You conclude with watching the sunset from above the canopy.
I would skip the sunrise tour. This tour just starts too early so it is completely dark and hard to see the structures you are hearing about. Also, too much time is spent sitting on top of Temple 4 waiting for the jungle to wake. We were only left with about an hour to really see Tikal before walking back to the entrance. I personally would recommend just entering the park on your own as soon as it opens at 6am. You could go to the top of either Temple 4 or the Grand Pyramid in the Mundo Perdido area on your own to experience the jungle waking up. Afterwards, you could spend the next few hours exploring on your own before the day tourists show up.
What to bring:
- Insect repellent
- Water bottle – no water or food is sold around the temples. (No food is actually allowed in the area but please bring water as it can be very hot. They have signs saying no plastic water bottles. No one actually checks your bags for plastic water bottles, but please do not leave any litter behind.
- Camera
- Sunglasses or a hat
- Comfortable walking shoes- hiking shoes are even better as the temples can be slippery with moss growing on them
We really loved our visit to Tikal and strongly recommend it for other travelers. If you can spend a couple days here, going into the park for a few hours at the beginning and end of each day, that would be the ideal itinerary for a relaxed, enjoyable visit. If you are interested in reading about more Central American Mayan Ruins, check out my post about Copan in Honduras: Copan Ruins, Macaws, and Luna Jaguar Spa
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