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While Guatemala claims Belize, Belize has been taking over part of Guatemala, in the touristic sense. Much of the new hotel construction in Guatemala in the last ten years has been in the part of that country accessible from Belize. More and more, visitors reach Tikal, the most awe-inspiring Mayan city-state currently developed for visitors, from Belize.

And it makes sense. Today's borders didn't exist in the days of Mayan ascendancy. If you have any interest in the ancient sites of Belize, the logical culmination of your visit is an excursion to Tikal. In the remote jungle of Guatemala's Petén department, removed from any significant settlement of the last several centuries, the jungle reveals temples and palaces over a hundred feet tall, the greatest monuments erected anywhere in the world at the time, bespeaking a civilization intricately organized, conquering in war, yet prizing artistic expression, and scientifically advanced.

Transport links from Belize to Tikal have improved significantly in the last few years. Among your choices for getting to Tikal and returning to Belize:

• Island Air and Tropic Air have flying tours to Tikal from San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) and Belize City, when demand warrants. A tour bus meets the plane in Flores for the 40-mile ride to the Tikal archaeological site. Morning and afternoon visits to the ruins are included, along with lunch. Return to Belize City and San Pedro is by late afternoon. These trips operate daily with a minimum of four passengers. Reserve at any travel agency, or call Island Air at 223-1140 or 226-2484 Tropic Air at 224-5671 or 226-2012. The price is about $200, or more if you book through certain travel agencies.
• Aerovías, a Guatemalan airline, has flights most afternoons from Belize City to Flores. Fare is about $50 one-way. Continue on your own by bus or local tour to Tikal. See Belize City chapter for details. Or, make your trip a circular excursion. Travel by air or overland to Tikal, continue on the Aerovías flight to Chetumal, Mexico, on the northern border of Belize (recently once a week), and head back down.
• Travel agencies in Belize City, and hotels in and near San Ignacio in Western Belize, operate one-day and longer overland excursions to Belize. From San Ignacio (see page 186), a day tour to Tikal for a group of four will cost about $250, not including border fees, much more for overnight visits. If you book an overland tour, look for one in a four-wheel drive vehicle. Some visitors spend a lot of time stuck in the mud on the poor roads in Guatemala.
• A Belizean taxi from San Ignacio to Tikal and back costs $200, or more if the driver stays overnight (worth it!). To Flores, the fare is $150. Or, you can take a Belizean taxi to the border ($20), and look for a Guatemalan taxi to take you onward to Tikal for another $50 or so round-trip.
• By bus, the total fare to Tikal is less than $15 from Belize City. If you catch the early Batty bus, you can even make it to Tikal one day, though it's a jouncing trip. If you're returning to Belize, you'll have to allow at least three days for the round trip. Read ahead for more details.

Of course, you can travel onward from Tikal to the rest of Guatemala, with its vibrant indigenous culture, colonial monuments, spectacular volcanic scenery and unsurpassed crafts and shopping. For more details, see my Guatemala Guide, also published by Passport Press.

IS GUATEMALA SAFE?

Should you go to Tikal? Should you be concerned for your personal integrity?

The answer to both questions is probably "yes."

Guatemala has a long history of authoritarian and repressive governments, made bloodier by the availability of modern military technology to a virtually autonomous army and "security" apparatus. Violence by both the government and insurgents in the 1980s forced many Guatemalans to flee to neighboring countries, including Belize. Hot spots still exist.

This is a sobering background to any visit to Guatemala.

In fact, it's more than just background. While Guatemala has achieved a political settlement, and overland travellers are no longer stopped at military checkpoints, the relaxation of military control, poverty, and the dislocation brought about by armed conflict have done nothing to lessen common crime.

I must tell you at the same time, however, that Guatemala's well-known internal problems need not pose a problem for a visitor. Even during the worst of the troubles, tourists were not targeted. And tourism is in most of its aspects probably a positive force in Guatemala. Visitors see much of what is going on, both good and bad; they value indigenous cultures, which some Guatemalans scorn.

And if you’re forewarned about the crime situation—probably no worse than in Belize—you’ll probably be more careful than you might otherwise be.

Follow normal precautions: stay with groups, don’t venture into unknown areas without a guide, and lock your door and windows at night.

Of course, once you're in Belize, you'll be in an excellent position to determine whether to continue to Guatemala. No doubt, you will run into many fellow visitors who have been to Tikal, who have encountered no problems, and who will have considered the excursion one of the high points of their trip.

TRAVEL BASICS FOR GUATEMALA

Visas: U. S. citizens require either a visa or a tourist card to visit Guatemala. Currently, tourist cards are issued at the border for a fee of about $5, though policy changes from time to time without any advance notice. If you are thinking of visiting Guatemala, it is prudent to obtain a visa in advance.

No visa is currently required of citizens of Austria, Belize and other Central American nations, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Holland, Italy, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Visa regulations can change, however. If you are a citizen of one of these countries, check with a Guatemalan consulate before you leave home, if possible.

Citizens of other countries need a visa, which they should try to obtain in their home countries.

To stay more than 30 days in Guatemala, you'll need to apply to the immigration office in Guatemala City.

Currency in Guatemala is the quetzal, currently worth about 14 U.S. cents. Belizean currency is not accepted anywhere in Guatemala, but may be traded with border money-changers. The rate is usually better on the Guatemalan side. Credit cards and travellers checks are accepted at higher-priced hotels, and U.S. cash may be used for minor expenses until you can get to a bank. Prices in this book are quoted in U.S. dollars.

Language in northern Guatemala is Spanish, along with Mayan. English will be understood only at hotels and tourist facilities in Tikal and Flores. Roads are generally unpaved and in poor condition. The exception is the paved road from Flores to Tikal. Telephone service for international calls from northern Guatemala is available only from the Flores area. Health standards are generally lower than in Belize, and cholera is a threat. Eat only fully cooked foods that are still warm, fruits with a peel; drink only hot beverages or bottled beverages. Safe food is available on the tourist circuit. Climate in northern Guatemala is similar to that in western Belize. Nights can be cool the farther you go inland, especially in December, January and February. Measures in Guatemala are a mixture of English (pounds, or libras, for weight), American (gasoline is sold by the U.S. gallon) and metric (road distances are expressed in kilometers).

Guatemala's last frontier was the Petén, the vast and sparsely settled department covering the northern third of the country. Thousands of years ago, the Maya settled the area. They burned away jungle to plant patches of corn, traded by way of rivers and laboriously constructed roads, and built great ceremonial cities that endured for centuries. They abandoned the Petén for unknown reasons, though a later group of Toltec-Maya immigrants from the Yucatán settled near Lake Petén Itzá and remained unconquered by the Spanish until 1697. After the Petén was nominally brought under Spanish control, only a few scattered settlements were established in the wilderness.

The Petén is an area of dense hardwood forests and dry jungle, of grassy savannas and small hills and valleys, dotted with lakes and seasonal swamps, cut here and there by rivers draining into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. In the southeast, the Maya Mountains rise to 500 meters, but most of the land is much lower. Thick layers of underlying sedimentary rock give evidence that much of the Petén was covered by the sea 200 million years ago, then slowly emerged and eroded into its present form.

Until relatively recently, about the only product that came out of the Petén was chicle, the raw material for chewing gum, bled from sapodilla (chicozapote) trees in the forests of the north by a rough-and-tumble breed of workers, and shipped out by plane. There were no roads running into the area from the rest of Guatemala, and so the forests remained unspoiled refuges for birds, wild boars and dogs, jaguars, and other animals that had disappeared long ago from the settled parts of the country.

Today, the face of the Petén has changed. Thousands of people from the crowded and overworked lands of the south have moved to the virgin lands of the north. Forests are cut and burned off to create new farmland, simple pole-and-thatch houses are quickly erected, and whole communities spring up where maps still show empty land. A flight over the Petén will reveal that some of the land remains untouched. But wide swaths run across the landscape wherever a road has been built, and the land cleared for farming to either side.

The Road from Belize to Tikal

OVER THE BORDER

The border crossing between Belize and Guatemala is a jungle outpost about a mile west of Benque Viejo, isolated but for the presence of a couple of automobile insurance shops nearby. The pavement ends on the Belizean side. Coming into Belize, procedures are minimal. Entering Guatemala, you'll face some paperwork. You'll pick up a tourist card for $5, if you're a U.S. citizen. Subject to changing regulations, you may also be able to enter on a tourist card if you're British or Mexican.

There are small fees to pay when entering Guatemala, which rise significantly if you cross before 8 a.m., at lunch time, or after 6 p.m., or on a weekend or holiday; or if you have a vehicle; or if there is anything about your documentation that can be construed as out of order. And, according to who's on duty, there are unofficial service charges (tips, or bribes, depending on how you look at the matter).

Situated on the boundary with Belize, 70 miles (112 kilometers) from Flores, Melchor de Mencos is named for a Guatemalan sergeant who once battled English pirates. Traditionally a base for chicle workers, Melchor de Mencos, like other towns in the Petén, is now a storage and shipping point for corn, sprawling and disordered, with a population of about 4000. The town center of Melchor is off to the north side of the main road.

Transport in and out

Buses for Flores leave from Melchor de Mencos at 3, 4, 5, 8 and 11 a.m., and, subject to changing schedules, at 1 and 4 p.m. Buses for Melchor de Mencos leave from Santa Elena/Flores starting at 5 a.m.

If you arrive after all buses have left, look for a taxi to take a group of passengers on to Tikal or Flores for $50 or less.

Collective taxis to the border from town charge less than $1.

Staying in Melchor

Low-end accommodations, not too different from those in Benque Viejo, can also be found in Melchor de Mencos. The Hotel Mayab, with 29 rooms, charges about $5 per person. Better and smaller, the Hotel Palace, with just a few rooms, charges $12 single/$20 double.

The road from Melchor de Mencos westward is unpaved and bumpy for 56 miles (90 kilometers) to the junction with the paved road from Flores to Tikal. Near the boundary with Belize, vegetation is lush, the countryside rolling. Farther on are mixed farms, corn plots and pasture and scrub, all hill-fringed.

At kilometer 61 on the road from Flores (17 miles or 29 kilometers from Belize), a branch road leads north for five miles to the twin lakes called Yaxjá and Sacnab. On the north shore of Lake Yaxjá are the Yaxjá ruins, unusual among Mayan sites in that small sections appear to have a grid street pattern. Other ruins, on Topoxte Island near the south shore of the lake, show elements of the Yucatán Maya style, indicating that a migration from the north to this area might have taken place after Classic civilization in the Petén had come to an end.

A jeep trail, passable in the dry season, leads from the end of the branch road to the Yaxjá ruins. Alternatively, you can try to hire a boat at the village at the end of the branch road in order to reach Yaxjá and Topoxte Island. The lake is a pleasant place to stop if you're traveling in a camper.

Back along the east-west road, you continue through a land of lush, rolling hills, disordered farms, and houses of adobe and bajareque (mud on a stick frame), scattered Catholic and evangelical churches, white Mayan huts, cattle, and egrets congregating in low spots filled with water. At kilometer 27 from Flores is El Cruce ("the crossroads"), or Ixlu. A kilometer to the north, at El Remate, at the eastern edge of Lake Petén Itzá, is a pretty lakeside area, where locals drop in their fishing lines and do their laundry. By all means, take a break here for a rest on the tree-dotted grass, a swim, or a meal at the thatched eatery.

If you're coming overland from Belize, you'll face a traveller's dilemma at this point: turn northward directly to Tikal; stay in one of the accommodations in the immediate area; or continue to Flores, where there are many hotels.

Accommodations near El Cruce and El Remate

A bluff rises across the road from Lake Peten-Itzá at El Remate, and atop the bluff is La Mansión del Pájaro Serpiente (Mansion of the Plumed Serpent), a set of double-level, thatch-roofed stone cottages that issue from the slope like treehouses. The four guest rooms open so far have wood and wicker furnishings, large screened openings, and tiled baths; and the most sublime views available from any sleeping place in the Petén. A driveway is under construction at a gentle angle; the walkway, paved with green stone brought from near Guatemala City, is more challenging. The rate here is $80 per person, including two meals, and pickup at the airport in Santa Elena, near Flores. Contact tel. and fax 926-1514 in Santa Elena.

Hotel Camino Real. U.S. tel. 9260222, 800-327-3573 in the U.S. 72 rooms. $140 single/$153 double.

On a hillside at the northeast corner of Lake Peten-Itzá, about three miles from El Remate, the Camino Real is the Petén's premier resort. There are no pretensions to roughing it—the rooms, in proto-Mayan buildings capped with thatched roofs have cable t.v., balcony and lake view. Windsurfers, mountain bikes, canoes and sailboats are all available to guests, and there is a pool. The emphasis is on fitting in with the environment. A treatment plant keeps the lake water clean, and kitchen waste is recycled into an experimental farm and greenhouse where some of the hotel's produce is grown. .

Camping

The excellent Gringo Perdido ("Lost Gringo") campground (tel. 332-7683 in Guatemala City) stretches several hundred yards along a jungly lakeside slope studded with palms and buttress-trunked forest giants. There are eight palapas (thatched shelters) where you can hang your hammock or pitch your leaky tent, in grassy clearings. But "campground" is somewhat of a misnomer—there are bunkrooms and cabins as well, accommodating a total of 28 persons at $14 each, and a couple of board-and-batten family bungalows near the water with four beds, going for $18 per person. For camping, with use of showers and latrines, the rate is $4 per person. Meals in the thatched lakeside dining area cost $5 for breakfast (juice, cereal, fruit, pancakes, beans, honey, etc.), $8 for lunch or dinner.

The location is ideal for swimming and fishing, (though there are no boats available to guests), and the Cerro Cahuí reserve nearby affords limited hiking. The site can be sticky in the rainy season, away from the concrete walkways.

Turn left off the Tikal road at kilometer 33 to reach Gringo Perdido. A sign points the way—Gringo Perdido is two miles onward. You need your own transport, or have to be willing to walk the last few kilometers from the main road.

At the northeast end of Lake Petén Itzá is the Biotopo Cerro Cahuí (Cahuí Hill reserve), established to protect the Petén turkey and other wildlife of the region, and as a start in preserving the watershed of an increasingly populated region. Among common wildlife at Cerro Cahuí are parrots, toucans, woodpeckers, hawks, kingfishers, ducks, and herons; dozens of species of butterflies; crocodiles, turtles, snakes, ocelots, peccaries, white-tailed deer, raccoons, armadillos, tepezcuintles (gibnuts, or pacas) and howler and spider monkeys. And there are numerous tropical hardwood trees, including the breadnut (ramón), mahogany, and cedars; and jungly ferns, palms, orchids and bromeliads. The reserve covers a relatively small area—1600 acres of forest, marshy lowland (bajos) and hills, ranging from 300 to 1200 feet above sea level.

One section with a trail is directly opposite the Gringo Perdido campground and lodge. There are two well-marked gravel-and-clay paths, one 1400 meters long, the other taking you more then three kilometers up through broad-leafed forest. The grade is mild, there are steps at the sections that are in the least challenging; but the heat and humidity can be enervating, and you are well advised to take advantage of the rest areas, provided with benches fashioned from saplings. If you take the long way around, fully or partly, you'll climb high enough to obtain panoramic lake vistas. Some of the trees are marked with their Spanish names.

The rainiest months here are between May and October. Average temperature is about 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 Centigrade). The humidity, the damp, and the limestone all let you know that you are in the jungle; the smells, the animal sounds and the sensations are much the same as at Tikal. This will not be your priority stop if your time is limited, though it's worth the detour if you have your own transportation.

You'll see a sign pointing the way to Cerro Cahuí along the Tikal road, about 28 kilometers from Flores, at El Remate. The easiest way to reach the reserve by public transportation is to take a bus toward Tikal and walk from El Remate junction. Otherwise, you can take a taxi, hire a boat from Flores (expensive), or check at the terminal in Santa Elena for an occasional bus going past the reserve to Jobompiche. Hours are from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The nearest place to stay is the Gringo Perdido campground and lodge.

Tikal, greatest of all Classic Mayan cities, towers above a dense jungle in a part of the Petén still little-inhabited. In this remote area, one of the greatest civilizations of its time established a city that endured for centuries.

Tikal is a place for wondering, not only at the engineering accomplishments of the Maya, but at the splendors of the jungle. The site of Tikal is a national park, one of the few accessible areas of the Petén that has not been taken over by agriculture, and where the native flora and fauna still flourish relatively undisturbed. The site and its surroundings are dense with mahogany, chicozapote, cedar, ceiba and palm trees, and intertwining vines. Howler and spider monkeys swing in the treetops, snakes prowl, and foxes, coatimundis, pumas and wild turkeys roam the ground. The hundreds of bird species include toucans and macaws, easily visible for their size and bright colors, the harpy eagle, curassows, egrets, vultures, road runners, motmots, Montezuma's oropendolas, and tinamous.

Getting to Tikal

Restoration efforts at Tikal started in the 1960s, but easy access to the site only came years later.

Tikal lies 62 miles (100 kilometers) by road from the border of Belize.

Air Service

While many companies advertise air tours to the ruins, the actual landing spot is near Flores, 40 miles (64 kilometers) to the southwest. (The airstrip right at Tikal is no longer used, to prevent possible damage to the site).

A bus from the Jungle Lodge meets all planes and charges about $5 per person for the trip to Tikal, or more if there are few passengers. You can also take a taxi for about $25, rent a car at the airport, or take local buses from Flores.

For flight schedules and details, see pages Tikal and Flores, below.

To return to Belize by air, you'll have to stay overnight, unless you've come on a tour flight.

Buses

There are daily buses and express microbuses from Flores to Tikal (see Flores, below). Buses leave Tikal for Flores promptly at 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. The microbus leaves at about 3 p.m., and you're assured of a seat only if you've booked from Flores.

If travelling directly from Belize, you'll take a bus from Melchor de Mencos, and transfer at either El Cruce or Flores.

To return to Belize, take the Flores bus from Tikal as far as El Cruce, and wait there for a bus to Melchor de Mencos.

Driving

The road from Belize is quite rough to the junction with the highway from Flores to Tikal, though it is passable in a passenger sedan throughout the year, with caution. If you're driving a vehicle rented in Belize, ask for permission to take the vehicle to Tikal.

Jeeps can be rented in Flores for travel to Tikal and other parts of the Petén, at rates much lower than those in Belize.

How Long to Stay?

The ruins of Tikal are extensive, and you should allow two days to see them, if you have the time. Since flights are scheduled from Belize in the afternoon and back to Belize the next day or the day after, Tikal can eat up four days of your itinerary if you rely on air travel, other than tour flights.

Consider the options mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, especially if you will be spending any time in western Belize. For example, you might want to take a taxi from San Ignacio to Tikal, and return to Belize City by air from Flores.

An admission fee of about $6 is collected when you arrive at the park entrance, about 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the visitors' center of Tikal.

STAYING AT TIKAL

Hotels, restaurants, the museum and campground are all grouped around the airstrip, which is about a twenty-minute walk from the ruins. Since the total number of rooms at Tikal is limited, and there are few facilities, most visitors stay in Flores, and go to Tikal on day outings.

There has been talk for years about closing down the hotels at Tikal, and accommodating visitors at a new center. Just in case this comes to pass, go and stay at Tikal now! Despite less-than-luxurious conditions, spending a night, listening to jungle noises, and waking to the squawking of parrots and monkeys, is memorable.

HOTELS

A long-standing favorite lodging place at Tikal is the Jaguar Inn. Unfortunately, there are only two double rooms, which go for about $35 double with meals, and two safari-style tents with night tables, mattresses, and electric lights, available at about $15 double. Write well in advance if you'd like to stay (to Jaguar Inn, Tikal, Guatemala, solis@quetzal.net), or call (926-0002) and send a deposit and your phone number. You'll be met at the airport in Flores.

Jungle Lodge, 32 rooms, tel. 926-0519. $60 double, or $20 per person with shared bath. In Guatemala City: 29 Calle 18-01, Zona 12, tel. and fax 227-60294.

Tour leaders used to describe the Jungle Lodge apologetically to their clients, but no more. The rustic abodes of yesteryear have all been totally rebuilt. Modern cottage rooms now are airy and light, whitewashed inside, each with two double beds, tiled shower, marble vanities, closet, pastel bedspreads, ceiling fan, porch . . . all in all, quite unexpected. The large lobby-dining room, screened and open to jungle sounds, is a pleasant gathering area, though food offerings are quite limited. Electricity is available only a few hours a day.

The Tikal Inn, also much improved, charges $60 double with dinner and breakfast, or $40 for two without meals in hotel rooms; or $35 per person with two meals, $25 per person without meals in bungalows. The hotel is concrete and airy, and a thatched roof and wicker furnishings provide a pleasant environment. The best feature is the swimming pool.

Camping

There's an ample grassy campsite right at the entrance to the visitors' reception area, with running water, shower and toilets, open thatched shelters, and plenty of room for vehicle parking. The charge is about $6 per night (an unofficial and variable arrangement). The diners nearby rent hammocks and mosquito nets for a couple of dollars a night, with a deposit required. A blanket will be useful in the dry season (December through May) since it can get surprisingly cold at night. Mosquito repellent will come in handy in the rainy season. There are fireplaces for cooking, and plenty of firewood is available for gathering. Campers should note that dogs are not allowed into the national park. Try to choose your spot as soon as you arrive. Conditions at the campsite are a great improvement over those just a few years ago, when you had to fetch water from a crocodile-infested pond. The crocodiles are gone now, but so, unfortunately, are a couple of workers.

RESTAURANTS

At the Jaguar Inn, on the north side of the airstrip, meals are served in a pleasant and cool thatch-roofed pavilion. The food is as good as you'll find in Tikal. Breakfast costs about $5, lunch or dinner $8, and there are sandwiches, vegetarian dishes, and an a la carte menu more varied than you'd expect way out here. They'll also pack a picnic. The Jungle Lodge serves meals, at slightly higher prices in its cool and pleasant dining area, but offerings are limited.

The restaurant at the visitors' center, has an ambitious menu, with a few non-jungle main courses, such as pepper steak and fettucine, at $10 and up, though you should not expect the food to live up to its description.

South of the airstrip are a couple of inexpensive diners.

Other Facilities

Facilities at the Tikal reception area include a temple-style visitors' center, holding a mock-up of the ruins, an exhibit of some stelae, and a restaurant (see above). There's also a post office, the museum, and a jungle nature trail. That's all.

The Museum

The Tikal Museum, located just north of the airstrip, contains a collection of some of the artifacts discovered during excavations at the ruins. Most interesting is a reconstructed tomb complete with skeleton and offerings of jadeite jewelry and pottery. A number of rubbings on rice paper show the designs of stelae more clearly than does a direct glance at the sculpture in daylight. Other items include stone tools and grinding stones, pieces of jewelry formed of mosaics of jadeite and shell, flint tools, and the remains of Stela 29, one of the oldest pieces of Mayan carved stone yet discovered, dating from about 292 A.D. Photographs show the process of excavating and restoring the ruins. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekends to 4 p.m. Other stelae are housed in the visitors' center. An additional entrance fee is collected, higher for foreigners than for Guatemalans, but nominal nevertheless.

Nature Trail

The Camino Interpretativo El Caoba ("Mahogany Interpretive Trail"), which starts by the Jaguar Inn, is still being developed. It passes through a chicle-gatherers' camp. This is a chapter of the Petén's history that has just recently closed, with the substitution of ingredients in the manufacture of chewing gum. Take a walk of an hour or two, depending on your interest and condition.

THE RUINS OF TIKAL

Before You Start Out

Wear light cotton clothing and a hat when you go out to the ruins. The sun is usually strong, though you can escape it for a while by ducking under a tree or into a temple. Carry some fruit or a canteen of water, or both. Bottled sodas are sold at various sites in the ruins, but no food. The Jaguar Inn will pack a box lunch if you've come without a hamper. Wear shoes with non-slip soles for climbing temples. Getting up the long flights of steps is no problem, but if you've got a fear of heights, getting down can be hairy. A flashlight will be useful for looking into temples and underground chambers.

Hours

On foot, follow the road from the airstrip (vehicular traffic is prohibited). It's twenty minutes to the main plaza. The site is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., though the guards start to clear visitors out at 5 p.m. You can get into the ruins during the full moon if you request permission at the inspectoría, a little building beside the trail from the airstrip.

The Evolution of Tikal

As is the case with all Mayan sites, the origins of Tikal are only barely discernible. Findings of pottery dating from a few hundred years before Christ give evidence that Tikal was inhabited at that time, perhaps by people who were attracted by the height of the site above surrounding swamps, and by deposits of flint, useful for making tools. No intact buildings have been found from the earliest periods of Tikal settlement, since the Maya were in the habit of destroying old structures in order to use the materials for new buildings.

By the time of Christ, the Great Plaza had already taken its basic form, with platforms and stairways constructed on the north side. Over the next few hundred years, the city grew in extent and height, as old buildings were razed or covered over with new ones, and tombs set into the plaza floor. The corbeled arch came into use, as did new-style pottery vessels painted in three or more colors. Similarities in artistic styles, tools and materials suggest that the pre-Classic Maya of Tikal were in contact with other peoples of Mesoamerica.

The Classic era of the flourishing of Tikal lasted from about 300 to 900 A.D., more or less the time when Copán and Palenque were also at their heights. In addition to raising their temples to ever greater heights, the Maya of Tikal worked changes on the landscape. Ravines were dammed to form reservoirs for seasonal rains. Causeways were built to connect different parts of the city, and to provide trade routes to other Mayan centers. Trade developed with far-away peoples who could provide jadeite, obsidian and other useful raw materials.

Some sort of residential city grew around Tikal, though its nature is a matter of debate. The great buildings in the center are assumed to have been temples and palaces for religious purposes, though they might also have been residences for the noble classes. Scattered for more than three miles in every direction from the center of Tikal are thousands of platforms that might have been the foundations of houses of stone and wood. As many as 50,000 people lived in Tikal and its hinterland, perhaps many, many more. Estimates of the population depend on interpretations of how many people would have lived in one house, whether all houses were occupied at one time, and, perhaps most importantly, on how much food could have been produced in the surrounding area.

The most visible evidence of a large population, a bountiful agriculture, and a highly developed social organization, is, of course, the very magnitude of Tikal. Many laborers had to work over long years to carry the rock and rubble needed to fill the bases of temples. While the fill was being set in place, masons had to build retaining walls, and later to face structures with carefully cut blocks. Meanwhile, lime mortar had to be made by burning limestone, a process that required the cutting of immense quantities of wood. All this had to be done with brute human labor, for the Maya did not know the use of the wheel, nor of iron, nor did they have beasts of burden.

While all this hard labor was going on, artisans were at work scraping away at limestone to form the low-relief sculptures of stelae, and incising designs into beams of chicozapote. This wood, carved when fresh and soft, takes on an iron hardness when exposed to air. The original temple lintels of Tikal, the finest examples of Mayan wood carving, have endured the jungle climate for centuries.

Additional workers had to patch up fallen bits of plaster, replace missing blocks of limestone, keep the temples painted, plaster over plaza floors worn with use, and maintain the reservoirs. Artisans created jewelry and beautiful pottery vessels with painted scenes of daily life, and jadeite jewelry and mosaics of shells and stones for personal decoration and as funerary offerings. Priests presided over human sacrifices, the victims of which might have been secured in raids on neighboring peoples (if one is to believe recent interpretations of scenes depicted on some Classic Mayan pottery vessels). Other priests and officials supervised matters ranging from ball games to the administration of justice to the calculation of the calendar.

All the people who were tending to the organized activities of civilization in Tikal could hardly have devoted much time to growing food. So in addition to the workers and nobility of the town, there must have existed a large class of farmers. Mayan agronomy was in many respects more advanced than that of modern tropical farmers. The Maya of Tikal took seemingly dreadful jungle swamps, with their store of water, and reworked them into resources that supported large population centers. Drainage canals were dug, and dirt piled up to create raised planting beds. Cassava, yams, corn and ramón nuts could have provided a complete and varied diet, along with wild game.

Today, one can sit atop a pyramid, gaze at the Great Plaza and roof combs rising up from the sea of jungle, and imagine the times more than a thousand years ago when the plaza was alive with activity and the city was surrounded by cultivated fields dotted with houses. But one can do little more than imagine. There is no coherent history of Tikal and there may never be one. Bits and pieces of information are picked up from drawings on pottery and bone, finds of tools, similarities in artistic styles between Tikal and other Mayan and non-Mayan centers, and the glyphs that have been deciphered up to now.

Written dates on stelae at Tikal range form the fourth century A.D. to 869 A.D., which is thought to have been the period during which civilization in the city reached its greatest development. Some short time after the last stela was erected, Tikal entered a period of rapid decline. Buildings were left unfinished, and population decreased dramatically. A number of possible explanations have been proposed: exhaustion of the land, drought, disease, revolution, invasion, perhaps the coming of a prophet who led his people back into the jungle. It's all a matter of speculation. Whatever happened at Tikal might have occurred at Copán (in present-day Honduras) and Palenque (in Mexico) as well, for those cities began to decline at the same time.

After the fall of civilization at Tikal, the city was inhabited intermittently, but there was never the kind of highly organized social system that characterized Tikal at its height. Tombs were occasionally looted, monuments were moved, and buildings were left to decay. Trees took root among the temples, their roots holding the stone and plaster together, and the stelae were covered over with moss.

Re-Discovery

The first systematic exploration of Tikal was carried out by Modesto Méndez and Ambrosio Tut, officials of the government of the Petén, in 1848. The report of Méndez awakened European interest in Tikal. A Swiss scientist showed up and carried off some of the temple lintels, and Alfred Maudslay arrived from England in 1881 to start clearing and photographing the ruins. Over the next fifty years, exploration was carried out by archaeologists sponsored by the Peabody Museum of Harvard University and the Carnegie Institution of Washington. From 1956 to 1969, the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania undertook a massive excavation and reconstruction project in cooperation with the government of Guatemala. Work at the site is now supervised by the Institute of Anthropology and History of Guatemala.

Tikal consists of thousands of constructions ranging from temples on pyramid bases to palaces to ball courts to tombs and burial chambers to stelae. Many of the structures remain in the form of mounds into which they collapsed during centuries of abandonment of the site, and many others lie buried under later buildings. Most of the restored and partially restored structures date from the Late Classic Period, which lasted from about 550 A.D. to 900 A.D. The major monuments are in clusters, some in the vicinity of the Great Plaza, others in outlying areas reached by following causeways built by the Maya.

The Ancient City

The Great Plaza, dominated by Temples I and II, sits on an artificially leveled tongue of land between two ravines, at the center of Tikal. The grassy plaza was originally covered over with lime mortar, which was renewed every few centuries.

Temple I, also called the Temple of the Giant Jaguar, rises 145 feet (44.2 meters) over the east side of the plaza. The base is formed of nine terraces with sloping sides, supporting a platform on which sits a three-room temple building. The crowning roof comb appears to have been mainly decorative. Roof combs were hollowed out to lighten their weight, and faced with carved limestone blocks. The eroded figure of a seated person can barely be made out on the comb of Temple I. The stairway now visible was used during construction. It was once covered over by a more formal set of steps.

The Maya built temples by creating mountains and placing molehills on top. At the base of Temple I (and under most of the other temples) is a great burial vault, a reconstruction of which may be seen in the Tikal Museum. The body of a noble was placed on a masonry bench in the chamber, along with offerings of ceramics and pieces of jewelry. Inscriptions indicate that the noble was called Ah Cacau (Lord Cacao), and that he ascended to power in 682 A.D. and ruled for almost fifty years. A corbeled arch was built above his chamber and capped with wooden beams, after which began the laborious process of building retaining walls, filling the spaces with rubble to form the first layer of the pyramid base, then building successive layers to the desired height. After the artificial mountain had been raised, a temple building was constructed at the top. The corbeled arch used by the Maya consisted of layers of stone successively protruding inward, until they could be capped by a single block. This arch could span only a narrow width, so massive Mayan structures contain claustrophobically small amounts of interior space.

Inside Temple I, some of the original carved wooden beams are still in place. Lintels at the entrances to temples were left undecorated. A secondary burial, dating from after the completion of Temple I, was found beneath the floor of the rear room.

Temple II, known as the Temple of the Masks for the decorations on its stairway, reaches a height of 125 feet (38.1 meters) over the west side of the plaza. With its roof comb intact, it might have stood almost as high as Temple I. The walls of the inside rooms are scribbled with ancient graffiti. No tomb has yet been found under the base, but the temple is thought by some to honor the wife of the ruler buried in Temple I. It may be her portrait that decorates an interior wooden lintel.

Both Temple I and Temple II date from relatively late in the life of Tikal, about 700 A.D.

Placed around the plaza are stelae and associated altars, some plain, others carved in low relief. Many appear to have been moved after the fall of Classic civilization at Tikal. Later stelae (the date glyphs can be read) were larger and sculptured more skillfully out of harder rock than the limestone of the earlier stelae, on which many of the inscriptions have worn away. The portraits on the stelae might have represented nobles to whom they were dedicated. Faces on some of the stelae appear to have been smashed intentionally, perhaps when the portrayed figure died or was succeeded in office.

The North Acropolis, fronting on the north side of the Great Plaza, is one of the most heavily constructed areas of Tikal. Hidden under the visible structures are many superimposed earlier buildings.

Excavations in Structure 5D-34 revealed a tomb cut into the bedrock deep below, containing the skeletons of a noble and his retainers, along with turtles, a crocodile, and pottery. In Structure 5D-33, facing the plaza, a number of layers of construction are visible. Here, the outer layer has been removed on the left side, revealing a great "mask" (large facial medallion) decorating one of the earlier buildings. On the right side, a matching mask may be seen by entering an excavation in the intact outer structure. Still another temple base covered the outer structure seen today, but was so badly eroded that most of it was stripped away during the reconstruction of the North Acropolis. Stela 31, now in the Tikal museum, was found buried in the second-layer building. One of the most beautiful of the early stelae at Tikal, it was defaced prior to the building of the now-destroyed outermost temple. Paradoxically, burial in rubble preserved it from further damage. Pictured on it is a ruling noble whose name glyph has been read as Stormy Sky. This may be the person whose mutilated skeleton was found in a tomb under the structure. Some archaeologists now believe that the Sky family were hereditary rulers of Tikal. Glyphs on another tomb in the North Acropolis identify an earlier ruler of Tikal called Curl Nose, who might have come from Kaminaljuyú.

South of Temple I is a small ball court. Scenes painted on pottery suggest that players hit the ball with padded knees and hips. South of Temple II, another pyramid contains no ruins on top, suggesting that it might have been capped with a perishable thatched structure. Excavations in the plaza floor southeast of the stairway of Temple II have revealed chultuns, chambers carved in bedrock and filled with what appears to be trash. Many of these chambers have been found, though their original use remains unknown.

Adjoining the south side of the Great Plaza is the complex of buildings known as the Central Acropolis. The buildings here are called palaces, not because they were royal residences—nobody knows what they were used for—but to distinguish them from the temples and pyramids elsewhere around the Great Plaza. The palaces are relatively long, low buildings surrounding small plazas, or courts, on different levels. Many are unrestored.

The palaces were constructed at different times, sometimes on top of older buildings. Alterations went on after construction was completed, with the addition of doorways, second stories, and outside stairways. The interior rooms have benches, which might have been used for seating or as sleeping platforms. The palaces are multi-story structures only in a primitive sense, since the upper floors are set back and supported mainly by a layer of rubble fill behind the rooms of the lower floors. Only one of the palaces, fronting on Court 6, has an interior staircase. Many of the palace facades were decorated with low-relief friezes, only a few of which survive intact.

The Palace Reservoir, just south of the Central Acropolis, was created by damming a ravine and sealing the porous limestone with clay. Nearby terraces were sloped so that water would drain into the reservoir.

Along the eastern end of the northern base of the Central Acropolis is the Late Classic Structure 5D-43, a platform supporting a two-room building. The rectangular molding on the base, and the sections jutting out above and below the molding, are similar to architectural features at Teotihuacán in Central Mexico, indicating a possible flow of architectural influence from that site, or from Kaminaljuyú, a Teotihuacán outpost in present-day Guatemala City.

North of Structure 5D-43 is the open area known as the East Plaza. On its east side is a ball court, beside which is a quadrangle of buildings called the Market Place. Farther to the east is a large, rubble-filled platform which might be the foundation of a temple left uncompleted. On the east rim of the platform is a building believed to have been a steam bath, with a low doorway and an inside firepit. Temple 4D-38, to the southeast of the plaza at the entrance to the Méndez Causeway, is notable for the cache of human skulls discovered under the base of a stairway, which suggests that human sacrifice was practiced at Tikal.

The West Plaza, to the northwest of Temple II, includes a large palace on the north side, an unfinished temple covering a tomb on the west side, and a number of stelae, which might have been moved from their original positions after the fall of Classic civilization at Tikal.

Leading west from the West Plaza is the Tozzer Causeway. The causeways at Tikal were wide, raised roads paved with mortar. Most are now named for archaeologists. A foot trail winds among the buildings to the south of the Tozzer Causeway.

Temple III, 54.9 meters (180 feet) high, is also known as the Temple of the Jaguar Priest, after the figure on an interior lintel of a fat man in a jaguar skin. A stela at the base of the stairway contains a date glyph equivalent to 810 A.D., indicating that Temple III was probably built in Late Classic times. Near Temple III is the Bat Palace, or Window Palace (so called for the unusual window openings on one side), another Late Classic structure, the second story of which fell down long ago.

Beyond Temple III is Twin-Pyramid Complex N, a set of structures of a kind peculiar to Tikal and Yaxjá. Two identical flat-topped pyramids with stairways on each side face each other across a plaza. A row of uncarved stelae and altars stands in front of the east pyramid. Off to the side is an enclosure containing a stela and altar. In the case of Complex N, these are among the finest examples of stone sculpture at Tikal. Complex N is dated 711 A.D. Dates on stelae in similar complexes elsewhere in Tikal indicate that they were erected every twenty years.

Temple IV, at the end of the Tozzer Causeway, is the tallest known structure in the Mayan world, with a height of 64.6 meters (212 feet). It might also have been the tallest structure in pre-Columbian America, depending on whether one takes into account the base platform. The top is reached by a difficult trail (the stairway is gone), and affords spectacular views of the other temples. The three-room temple at the top contained two exquisite lintels, which were carried off to Switzerland. Impressions of the carvings on the top sides of the beams may be seen in the interior doorways. Glyphs on the lintels date Temple IV at 741 A.D.

From Temple IV, a trail follows the Maudslay Causeway through the jungle to the northeast, ending at Group H, which includes two twin-pyramid complexes. The first, Complex M, was partially destroyed, possibly when the causeway was built. Complex P includes some relatively large rooms, the walls of which are covered with ancient Mayan graffiti.

The Maler Causeway, with a footpath down its center, runs from Group H back to the East Plaza. Midway is a set of twin-pyramid complexes. Complex Q, the easternmost of the group, is the only twin-pyramid complex to have been partially restored.

Back to the center of Tikal. From the East Plaza, the Méndez Causeway runs to the southeast, passing Group G, a complex of palace-type buildings, the walls of which are scribbled with graffiti. At the end of the causeway, about a twenty-minute walk from the East Plaza, is the Temple of the Inscriptions, named for the many glyphs on the roof comb and on the temple trim.

South of the Central Acropolis lies the Plaza of the Seven Temples, reached most easily by a trail running south from Temple III. This group is named for a series of temples in a north-south row. The central one features decorations of crossed bones and a skull. On the north side of the plaza is the Triple Ball Court, an unusual series of parallel playing areas.

To the west of the Plaza of the Seven Temples is the area recently re-christened Mundo Perdido (Lost World), which is only now being explored intensively by archaeologists. The Great Pyramid (structure 5C-54) rises 105 feet (32 meters) above the Lower Plaza. It consists of five superimposed pyramids constructed between 700 B.C. and 250 A.D., the last at the end of the pre-Classic period. Stairways ascend on each side of the outermost, visible layer. Two mascarones (masks, or facial sculptures), of the original 16, survive on the western side of the pyramid, and are sheltered by thatched roofs.

Beyond the Plaza of the Seven Temples, to the east, is Temple V, last of the great pyramid temples of Tikal, 190 feet (57.9 meters) high. Unusual features include a stairway finished with moldings along the edges, rounded corners on the base and superstructure, and an interior room small even for a Mayan structure.

After a look at Temple V, you can continue with explorations of the outskirts of Tikal, if you wish. From the southwest corner of the Mundo Perdido complex, follow a trail down steps and over a stick bridge, and 300 yards onward to a recent excavation site. You can enter a thatch-covered trench to inspect several large stone sculptures of faces. The trail continues back to Group G. If you search around, you may find other such little-visited areas on the periphery of Tikal where you can see restoration work in progress.

Uaxactún ("wa-shak-TOON") is in many ways a primitive, miniature version of Tikal. Like the larger site, Uaxactún consists of groups of temple and palace structures. But at Uaxactún, the highest temple rises to only slightly over 27 feet (eight meters).

Excavations at Uaxactún have given some clues to the evolution of the Classic Mayan temple. Post holes in one of the earlier levels of construction indicate that temple bases might once have been capped with wooden houses. Explorations have also turned up painted murals.

The eight groups of structures at Uaxactún are located on either side of the airstrip of an old chicle camp. Group E, east of the airstrip, is noted for a set of three temples, oriented so that an observer standing opposite would see the sun rising over the northernmost temple on the day of the summer solstice, and over the southernmost temple on the day of the winter solstice. Two large stucco faces flank the stairway on the facing temple base, which is one of the oldest visible Mayan structures in the Petén.

Uaxactún, about 25 kilometers north of Tikal, was discovered by Sylvanus Morley, who coined its name from the words meaning "eight" and "stone" in the modern Mayan language, after finding a stela bearing a date from the eighth cycle of the Mayan calendar, equivalent to 68 A.D. Other stelae at the site bear dates up to the equivalent of 639 A.D.

A jeep trail, passable in the dry season, leads from Tikal to Uaxactún. Buses may operate along it—inquire at the Hotel San Juan in Santa Elena. On foot, the walk from Tikal takes about six hours. The village of Uaxactún, with a population of about 400, was originally a chicle shipping center. Beans and tortillas are available, but not much else. If you walk from Tikal, plan on camping out at Uaxactún. The ruins remain almost totally unrestored.

This isolated site, 80 kilometers northeast of Tikal, near the border with Belize, includes a 155-foot-high (47-meter) temple. The Maya reworked the landscape extensively around Río Azul, constructing dams, canals, and fortifications. An intact burial chamber from about 400 A.D. was discovered here by archaeologist R. E. W. Adams, amid dozens of other tombs that had been looted. Also unusual is a pot with a screw-top lid. Río Azul is still inaccessible to casual visitors.

The island city of Flores, founded in 1700, is the successor to the last stronghold of the Maya. Centuries after Tikal and other cities of the Petén had been abandoned, some of the inhabitants of Chichén-Itzá in the Yucatán migrated southward and founded Tayasal on an island in Lake Petén Itzá. The Spaniards were aware of the existence of Tayasal. Hernán Cortés, conqueror of Mexico, spent three days there in 1525 while on a march to Honduras, and a statue of one of Cortés' wounded horses became one of the principal idols of the town. But for almost 200 years, the Spaniards were occupied with conquering and administering a continent, and paid little attention to the city in the jungle. Some friars visited Tayasal in about 1618, but they only managed to earn the hatred of the people by destroying their equine idol. A military expedition led by Martín de Ursúa finally managed to subjugate Tayasal in 1697.

By the time the Spaniards moved into the area, the old Mayan causeways had long been covered with jungle growth. Though the building of a road through the Petén to Belize remained a dream for many years, nothing was done about it, and Flores and the towns of the area remained isolated outposts, subsisting on corn-and-bean agriculture, and sending workers out to bleed chicle trees in the jungle.

With the opening of the Petén, first by airplane and later by highway, the area around Flores has boomed. Most of the growth has been in Santa Elena (population 5000) and San Benito (population 8000), opposite Flores on the mainland. Flores itself (population 1500) sits on a small island, with no room for expansion. It remains a charming and quiet old place, with only a bit of dust kicked up now and then by vehicles traveling the road around its rim.

Getting to Flores

Buses from the border with Belize terminate in Santa Elena, on the south side of the lake.

Air Service

The airport for the Flores area is located about two kilometers east of the center of Santa Elena. Taxis run to town, or you can walk to one of the nearby hotels, or board a waiting bus for Tikal. (And it waits . . . until all flights have landed.)

All scheduled service to Flores is somewhat theoretical, subject to delay and cancellation. Plan accordingly—visit Tikal and the Petén early in your trip, rather than at the very end, when a delay might cause you to miss your flight home.

From Belize:

Island Air and Tropic Air run day-long tours to Tikal. Passengers land at Flores in the morning, continue by bus to Tikal, and return to Belize City or San Pedro in the evening. See Belize City chapter for details for details.

One afternoon flight operates between Belize City and Flores most days of the week, on either Aerovías or Aviateca. One-way fare is about $60.

From Guatemala City:

Aerovías, and Aviones Comerciales have daily flights in small planes, departing from Guatemala City at 6:30 or 7 a.m., and returning in the afternoon. Fare is about $60 each way.

Aviateca flies larger planes to Flores, usually Boeing 737s, at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. The Aviateca schedule can be confirmed in the United States or Canada by phoning 800-327-9832.

HOTELS

In Santa Elena:

Hotel Tziquinaha. Tel. 926-0359. $50 single/$58 double.

Within walking distance of the airport (if you don't have much luggage), and a couple of kilometers from the center of Flores. There's no noise problem, since only a few planes land during the day. Air conditioning, pool, cable t.v., restaurant. Food not great.

Jaguar Inn, Calzada Rodríguez Macal 879, tel. 926-0002, solis@quetzal.net. 18 rooms. $35 double.

A haven for travellers, new, cheery, built around a gardened courtyard. Comfortable rooms have ceiling fans and attractive woodwork, and are decorated with locally woven crafts. One of the owners speaks English, the other is English. Restaurant. Turn left just before the Texaco station as you approach from the airport. Under the same management as the Jaguar Inn at Tikal

Hotel Maya Internacional, tel. 926-0094. 16 thatched cottages. $45 single/$65 double.

Near the causeway to Flores—look for the large thatched dining pavilion. The units are currently reached by rickety walkways over the watery grounds. Well maintained. Jeep tours arranged.

Hotel El Patio, tel. 926-1229 (800-327-3573 in the). 22 rooms. $100 single/$125 double.

Located back from the lake, near the Maya Internacional, on the road in from the airport. A substantial two-story colonial-style structure with archways around a relatively cool central courtyard. The neat, modern rooms have overhead fans and cable television, and the bar and restaurant are air-conditioned.

Hotel Costa del Sol, Calzada Rodríguez Macal, tel. 92-1336. 17 rooms. $35 single/$45 double.

A motel built around a large swimming pool along one of the main streets in Santa Elena—lots of dust can blow in, but the rooms are air-conditioned and have cable television, the management is friendly, and the restaurant isn't bad. A good buy.

Hotel Don Quijote, 20 rooms. $10 per person with shared bath.

Simple rooms in a modern building, a half-block from the causeway to Flores. Inexpensive restaurant. The area is often dusty because of heavy traffic (or muddy if it's been raining).

Hotel Jade. 10 rooms. $6 per person, sharing bath.

The green-painted building, just before the causeway to Flores. Rooms are basic but acceptable.

Hotel San Juan. On the main street of Santa Elena. $5 per person.

Bare rooms with shared bath. So-so, but a good travel base, as buses for Tikal leave from the hotel.

In Flores:

Hotels on the west side of the island, with a view to San Benito and some open water, are preferable to those on the south side, where you'll only see the causeway, and traffic kicking up dust in Santa Elena.

Hotel Petén, tel. 926-1392. 21 rooms. $15 single or double ($$28 with private bath).

West side, in two buildings. The main building of this hotel is more pleasant than it appears from the street. Rooms are in tiers, some with good lake views.

Hotel La Jungla, 11 rooms. $12 single/$15 double.

La Mesa de Los Mayas (tel. 926-1240), one of Flores' old-line restaurants, has recently made several guest rooms available, at $23 single/$29 double.

Hotel Casona de la Isla, north side. 27 rooms. $23 single/$34 double.

The newest hotel in Flores, with air-conditioned rooms, restaurant, parking. A good buy.

The Hotel Itzá, on the south side, is a dive: no soap, no towel, no customers, unless everything else is full.

In San Benito:

San Benito, the red-light district of metropolitan Flores, is a hodgepodge of buildings strewn around a market. It's not the most pleasant place in which to stay, but there are a couple of dreary hotels with rooms for about $3 per person.

Accommodations outside Flores

Hotel Villa Maya, tel. 926-0086. 28 rooms. In Guatemala City: 3 Calle 10-58, Zona 10. $90 single/$98.

Located beside little Lake Petenchel, surrounded by jungle and palms and forest and swamp eight kilometers east of Santa Elena on the way to Tikal, then another four kilometers north on a rough road. Villa Maya is currently in only partial operation. Rooms, in hillside jungle houses, have red-tiled floor, hardwood bed and built-in furniture, prints of toucans, and a small terrace facing the lake, as well as odd and interesting shapes. There are fans only to cool you off. The restaurant serves a basic menu of fish and beef dishes, and usually has tepezcuintle, and sometimes other game.

Monkeys, pheasants and assorted other wildlife are on the grounds, both caged and roaming free, or, in the case of multiple macaws, sitting on perches and watching you; and everything is as well manicured as it can be in a land of exuberance. All structures are roughly Mayan in design, but unmistakably modern—a metal palapa (pavilion), stone terraces, and a pool on several levels. Most of the advertised facilities, such as tennis courts and a miniature golf course, are still to be installed. Boats are available at no charge to guests, and small Jeep-type vehicles are available for rent.

In El Remate:

Several more accommodations are available east of Flores, where the road for Tikal branches from the road to Belize. See El Remate, above.

RESTAURANTS

Elegant cooking is nearly unknown in the Petén, which is still largely a frontier area. Chicken is invariably rubbery, and your filet mignon will be something tough and unrecognizable. Don't let yourself in for disappointment by ordering something that local hands aren't up to preparing.

On the other hand, the Petén is now settled enough to have its own moyenne cuisine, based largely on such native game as tepezcuintle (paca, or gibnut in Belize), wild boar and turkey, and deer. I wouldn't pass up the chance to try these. At the Mesa de los Mayas in Flores, you can enjoy a meal with local game that is not elegant, but wholesome, well-cooked, and reasonably priced at about $7. You're also safe with fish, beef on skewers, and Guatemalan-style steak in onions and tomatoes. This is an unpretentious place, with reed mats decorating the walls. There are simpler menus, without game, at the less attractive Restaurant Gran Jaguar and La Jungla, both nearby in the center of Flores.

Almost all of the hotels, as well as these restaurants serve reasonably priced breakfasts. The cafeteria at the Hotel San Juan, the base for buses to Tikal, is open at 6 a.m.

FACILITIES

A post office and a branch of the Banco de Guatemala (national bank) are located in the center of Flores.

The tourist office is at the airport in Santa Elena.

Guatel, the telephone company, is on the mainland in Santa Elena, about three blocks west of the causeway. Look for the microwave tower.

The Hotel San Juan in Santa Elena is a good place to get recent travel information. Several bus lines are headquartered there, and air tickets are sold.

Jeeps are rented by Koka Rentauto, Calzada Rodríguez Macal at 1 Avenida B (tel. 501233), and at the airport (tel. 501526); and by Enrique Garrido, at the airport. Rates are about $50 daily for a Jeep, subject to bargaining when things are slow. It's often a better bet to hire a taxi for the day. $35 to $40 will get a group of four a round trip to Tikal.

AROUND FLORES

Even if there were no spectacular ruins accessible from the town, Flores would be a pleasant place in which to spend a vacation. The cayucos (dugouts with sides built up of planks) plying the surface of Lake Petén Itzá, the thickly forested surrounding hills, the tropical bird life, and a sense of remoteness all give the place a unique atmosphere.

Flores is located at a bend in the southwest corner of Lake Petén-Itzá, which covers 38 square miles (99 square kilometers) and is dotted with a number of smaller islands. The lake is a large depression filled with ground water, fed by small streams and emptied by underground seepage. The name Petén was applied by the Itzá Maya to the island where Tayasal was located. It was later used as a name for the lake and finally for the whole region.

For swimming, you can jump in the lake anywhere, though the water around Flores is encrusted with vegetation and is not too appetizing. Head for a spot away from the settled area, either on foot or in a canoe.

For the best views from Flores, walk up to the town square (in this case a circle) at the crest of the island. You'll be able to look down on the western end of the lake, and over to the low surrounding hills.

Until the causeway connecting Flores with Santa Elena was built, the only way to get to the island was in small cayucos. A commuter service of motorized cayucos still operates between Flores and San Benito. The fare is a few cents.

Lake Trips

More interestingly, you can arrange with one of the boat owners for an excursion to several points of interest near Flores. A trip that costs under $10, and takes about two hours, starts with a ride across to the temple mounds that are the remains of part of Tayasal, the last Mayan stronghold, on the shore to the north. At the dock where you land, Mayan women do their laundry and bathe bare-breasted. A trail leads up one of the mounds, covered with trees and brush. Is it worth it to ascend 136 steps in the jungle heat, to the top of the Mirador Rey Canek (a viewing platform in a jabín, or quebracho tree), and look down over a peninsula to the villages of San Andrés and San José nestled at the base of the long rise along the far northern shore, onto the islet of Santa Bárbara with its radio tower, to Flores and Santa Elena and the airport and the forest-bordered lake stretching beyond under a haze? Only you can answer.

Next stop on most excursions is Ramonal, the island nearest Flores, which has been left as a park and picnicking area, with treehouses, a rickety diving tower, and "la garrucha," a cable and pulley. You can climb onto a platform, take hold of triangular bars, swing out, and ride a hundred feet or so down and over the water lilies to the peninsula to the north, then return on the companion cable. Fun, but perhaps a bit too reminiscent of commando training movies.

Farther on is Petencito ("Little Petén"), a municipal park and zoo on an island and adjoining mainland, 20 minutes from Flores by boat. All the animals—pheasants, parrots, boas, wild Petén turkeys, ocelots, pumas, jaguars, spider monkeys, white-tailed deer, tepezcuintles, crocodiles, foxes, margays, marmosets, and alligators—are native to the Petén. The mainland part of the zoo is reached by a footbridge several hundred meters long. Also in this section are the main amusements: concrete water slides 30, 60 and 90 meters long. Wet yourself at the trough, turn on the water tap on the slide, hand your personal belongings to your boat driver, perhaps write down a last wish, then launch yourself as a human bobsled on the 90-meter slide—legs in, arms together, bombs away! Down, down you go, taking the curve at 70 miles an hour, rising slightly on the last stretch before being propelled through the air and crashing into the lake. The 60-meter slide, curved and mogulled, is only worse. You don't find devices like these in the first or second world, at least not in concrete, but here, liability insurance is not known. Once was enough for me (I have to think about my children).

Hours at Petencito are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., and there's a small admission charge.

Caves

For spelunking, the Actun Kan caves are south of town. Follow the road right off the Flores causeway through Santa Elena, take the left fork at the edge of town, then go right. The caves are about three kilometers from the lake. Actun Kan ("serpent cave") is illuminated, and for a small fee, a boy will escort you and point out natural formations that look like a sheep, a marimba, a mammoth, and a waterfall. There are bats, and dripping water, and stalactites and stalagmites, but, except for an ancient carved face of Chac, the Mayan rain god, it's all minor league as caves go. For more adventurous exploration on your own, the Jobitzinaj caves are the western outlet of the same underground system. Go right at the fork at the edge of Flores, then left and around the hill to reach the entrance. Take a flashlight and spare batteries, or candles.

I recently went looking in Flores for several hotels that I used to know, and found that their lower floors had disappeared below the rising waters of Lake Petén Itzá. Sic transit. But who knows? The level of the lake is said to be falling again. Some hotels could re-open, and the Hotel Maya Internacional might even recover its beautifully landscaped grounds and swimming pool.

ONWARD FROM FLORES

As accommodations at Tikal are limited, you might want to spend your nights in Flores, and take buses or tours to Tikal during the day.

From Flores to Tikal

From the Airport: A bus operated by the Jungle Lodge in Tikal meets flights and takes passengers to Tikal for about $5 each way. The fare will be higher if there are not many people on board. Taxis are also available for individual or shared trips, and there are several car-rental counters where Jeeps and similar four-wheel drive vehicles are available. The car-rental operators are willing to bargain when business is slow.

From Flores and Santa Elena: Buses usually leave the terminal in Santa Elena at 6 a.m. and noon, make many stops, and take at least 90 minutes to reach Tikal. Buses depart Tikal promptly at 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. Fare is about $1. To give yourself more time at the ruins, take the express microbus that leaves from the Hotel San Juan in Santa Elena at 7 a.m. This gets you to Tikal in an hour, and departs for Flores at 3 p.m., or whenever the passengers can be rounded up. Fare is about $5 round trip. There's also a later microbus departure if demand warrants. Sign up at the Hotel San Juan the day before you travel, and you'll be picked up at your hotel.

Daily tours to Tikal are offered by hotels in Flores. Or you can simply fly in and pick up a tour at the airport.

If you're going to camp out at Tikal for a night or two, and plan to do your own cooking, stock up on food in Flores. Oranges, grapefruits and other fruits make good snacks in the ruins. Leave what you can at your hotel in Flores, since there's no safe place to stow belongings at the Tikal campsite.

Buses

For recent schedules and information about new routes, inquire at the Hotel San Juan on the main street in Santa Elena. The terminal for the Flores area is in Santa Elena, a couple of blocks south and east of the causeway.

Flores to Melchor de Mencos / Belize border: Five buses depart daily, starting at 5 a.m. To Guatemala City: One "directo" bus (making fewer stops than others) departs at 9 p.m. from the terminal in Santa Elena, others, taking at least 13 hours, leave at 10 and 11 p.m. and 5 and 11 a.m. Book your seat the day before you travel, if possible. Buses to Poptún leave Santa Elena at 6 and 10 a.m., and 1 and 4 p.m.

Air Service

An afternoon flight to Belize City operates every day of the week, on either Aerovías or Aviateca.

There are several return flights to Guatemala City in the morning on Aviateca, Aerovías and Aviones Comerciales, and at least one afternoon flight on Aviateca.

Currently, one weekly flight operates between Flores/Santa Elena and Chetumal, Mexico, and other connections to Mexico are planned.

Aside from Tikal, it's difficult to get to many of the Mayan sites in the Petén by public transportation. Uaxactún can be reached in a day on foot from Tikal. Sayaxché, reached by bus, is the starting point for river trips to El Ceibal and a few sites near Lake Petexbatún. El Ceibal can also be reached by a jeep road from Sayaxché. Yaxjá and Nakum, east of Tikal, are accessible by jeep during the dry season. Piedras Negras, Altar de los Sacrificios and other sites along the Usumacinta River are reached by motorized canoe from Sayaxché. Yaxchilán, on the Mexican side of the Usumacinta River, can also be reached by chartered plane from Guatemala City or by road to a point on the river opposite the ruins. One of the greatest Mayan sites, El Mirador, near the Mexican border in the north of the Petén, is reached by a two-day hike from Carmelita, a settlement that is accessible by bus from Flores. Tours to the more remote sites, as well as river and fishing trips, are offered by several travel agencies in Guatemala City, and by some hotels in the Flores area.

Bus service is available to some remote border regions with few facilities for the conventional traveller. Take the daily Calzada Mopán bus, and you can continue overland into the jungle of Campeche. I don't guarantee that you'll get there quickly. Or take the bus at 5 a.m. or 1 p.m. to Naranjo, northwest of Flores, (where basic accommodations are available), a ride of five hours or more. Catch a boat on the San Pedro River, and continue to La Palma, on the border (there's an immigration post, so it's all legal), and onward to Tenosique in the Mexican state of Chiapas, on the rail line to Mérida. There is a surer chance of getting through on this route.

ECO-SPANISH

By the time you've read or travelled this far, there's a fair chance that you've become interested in ecology and in learning some Spanish to ease your travels beyond Belize.

In San Andrés, on the northwest shore of Lake Petén-Itzá, the Eco-Escuela de Español is pioneering a combination of language study with immersion in the effort to save the rain forest.

Beyond one-on-one Spanish instruction, lectures and field trips emphasize forest ecology. Students go off the usual tourist track, network with local residents instead of with tour guides, and stay with villagers. Costs for room, board and language lessons runs only about $100 weekly.

For information on this pioneering program, contact ProPetén Eco-Escuela, Casa Ing. Asturias, Flores, Petén, Guatemala, fax 502-9-501370, or Conservation International Eco-Escuela, 1015 18th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036, tel. 202-429-5660, fax 202-887-5188.

Southwest of Flores:

Sayaxché (population 2500), 44 miles from Flores, is a jungle port of stilt houses and huts, not far from a number of archaeological sites. The town was founded late in the nineteenth century by monks who set up missions in order to assert Guatemalan sovereignty in lands claimed by Mexico. The area around Sayaxché is rich in mahogany, cedar, rubber and balsam, which are exploited mainly along the rivers. The town sits on the south bank of the Río de la Pasión, a tributary of the Usumacinta that borders Mexico. Some of the corn grown in the township is shipped by canoe upriver to Sebol, far to the south.

Buses leave Santa Elena (near Flores) for Sayaxché twice daily (recent schedule: departures at 6 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.). The trip takes two hours. The bus drops you on the north bank of the river, where you can catch a cayuco or the car ferry to the other side, for a small fare.

Hotels

The Guayacán, to the left of the ferry landing as you cross over, is a well-kept building. Rooms are about $25 single/$35 double, and meals are available, sometimes including wild game. And there is another hotel, the Mayapán. Several small diners in town serve meals. There is also a fishing lodge on Lake Petexbatún (see below).

BEYOND SAYAXCHE

Several archaeological sites are accessible from Sayaxché by water. The Tamarindito ruins sit on a north-facing rock outcrop about four kilometers west of Lake Petexbatún, which lies south of Sayaxché. Aguateca, with large stelae, is above a creek that runs into the south side of the lake. Dos Pilas is about 12 kilometers west of the river flowing out of Lake Petexbatún to the Río de la Pasión. There are also some sulfur springs along the shore of the lake.

Don't attempt to reach the ruins without a guide. The settings are spectacular, as is the jungle scenery. But the sites are relatively small, and are unrestored.

A trip by motorized cayuco can be expensive unless you've got a few people to share expenses. To Lake Petexbatún, Aguateca or Dos Pilas, the cost will be at least $60. The long trip to Yaxchilán, on the Mexican side of the Usumacinta, will cost as much as $300. Negotiate prices with the boat owners. Most cayucos will safely hold up to four people, including the operator.

Large cargo cayucos heading for Sebol will sometimes take on passengers. Be ready to go immediately, or to wait a week or more until a boat leaves.

Fishing in Lake Petexbatún for snook, peacock bass and smaller species, and for tarpon in July and August, is said to be excellent. A lodge on the lake has operated from time to time for fishing parties, and as a base for groups visiting archaeological sites. Telephone 312525 in Guatemala City or inquire at a travel agency in Guatemala City to arrange accommodations.

The ruins of El Ceibal, up the Río de la Pasión from Sayaxché, can be reached by jeep (tours from hotels in Flores are available) as well as by boat. Features of the site include a stairway decorated with many glyphs, and numerous stelae. The later ones show Mexican clothing, faces, and design motifs, suggesting that the decline of the Classic Maya, at least at El Ceibal, was associated with domination by peoples from the north. Structures at El Ceibal are relatively low and, strangely, most do not use the corbeled arch typical of the Maya. The finely carved stelae, depicting priests, ball players and other personages, are well preserved. The last inscribed date is equivalent to 889 A.D.

The ruins of El Ceibal are threatened by plans to develop an oil well on the site.

The ruins of Altar de los Sacrificios are downriver from Sayaxché, at the point where the Río de la Pasión joins the Chixoy River to form the Usumacinta. The site was discovered in 1895 by Teobert Maler, who named it for its great stone altars. Altar de los Sacrificios, like El Ceibal, lacks arches.

Farther north, Yaxchilán stretches for several miles on the Mexican side of the Usumacinta, at a sharp bend. Considerable clearing has been carried out among the structures, which follow the contours of the land instead of being set on artificial platforms, as at other Mayan sites. Figures are carved on stelae and elsewhere in unusually deep relief. Interpreters of Mayan glyphs believe that Yaxchilán was ruled by the Jaguar dynasty. Dated structures were erected until the equivalent of 840 A.D.

Yaxchilán and several other sites on the Usumacinta are threatened by plans for hydroelectric development.

Downriver from Yaxchilán on the Guatemalan bank is Piedras Negras, named for rocks of blackish limestone in the river sand. The site is thought to have flourished in Early Classic times, and is known for the carved stone lintels in its structures, and for its rather numerous stelae. Many of the important structures were roofed with straw or some other perishable material. Most of the stelae, which were erected every five years, have been removed to museums, leaving the site relatively bare. The large number of stelae with obviously interrelated inscriptions enabled modern-day cryptographers to interpret Mayan glyphs indicating dynasties and city names.

The Usumacinta was an ancient trade route of the Maya, who are thought to have used it for commerce with coastal regions along the Gulf of Mexico. But strangely, few artifacts from the coast or from the Guatemalan highlands have been found at Piedras Negras. Access is by boat or by chartered plane.

ONWARD

While the archaeological sites of the Petén are a logical extension of a trip to Belize, travel onward in Guatemala is another book. I refer you to my Guatemala Guide for more details. The newest edition is published by Passport Press, Champlain, New York.
 
 

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