Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park
In the jungle of Tikal, archaeologists discovered more than 3000 pre-Columbian monuments. Among them are palaces, temples, houses, streets and balplaygrounds. The city was probably inhabited between 600 BC and 900 AD. It is one of the most important archaeological findplaces in the world.

At its height from 700 AD to 800 AD the city supported a population of 90,000 Mayan Indians. They had made the transition from hunters to farmers: excavations have yielded remains of cotton, tobacco, beans, pumpkins, peppers and many fruits.

The natural surroundings of Tikal are also rewarded by this inscription. In the 22,100 ha rain forest several animal species have their home: among them howler monkeys, anteaters, crocodiles, racoons, skunks, weasels and various birds.

Sports Arenas . Location for a classic movie . Scripts .



Visit September 1997

They call it jungle, but Tikal nowadays is a well-developed natural park that daily caters to lots of tourists. Actually too much park and conservation to my taste.

The ruins are beautiful of course, although they also are not unique (similar to a site as Palenque (Mexico)). So I was a bit disappointed about this major site ...

Reviews

Jose J. Michel (United States):
I was born and raised in Mexico. When my son American born was about 9 years old we backpack from Mexico City to Oaxaca to visit the Mixteco and Zapoteca sites in Mitla and Monte Alban. We took an overnight bus that took us to Tapachula, Chiapas on the Border with Guatemala. The Bus took 6 hours to Guatemala City traveling along a Pacific route. the country was so beautiful and colorful and people very friendly. We stayed in a Downtown hotel and visit diferent places every day. Lake Atitlan was so beautiful and colorful we rented bycicles and swim in the lake looking at two perfectly coned volcanos. We went to Antigua
the former capital which remains very much like it was during the seventeen century except for some phone poles and wires. but the Highlight of our trip was our side trip to Beautiful TIKAL. We boarded a two propele plane at the Aurora Airport that took us to Flores Airport in the middle of El Peten Jungle. The plane flies low and makes it ease to appreciate the landscape. A bus took us from Flores to the Park and along the way we stoped to see the beautiful Peten-Itza lake. We went to most of the building that the tours go but we split and climbed the four tallest and main temples.appreciating the filigrane work on the stones that make the combs on top of the pyramids. Those are the tallest pre-columbian buildings in the Americas.
build by great arquitechts and matematicians. who had also developed an agriculture system to feed a population of 80,000 to 90,000 people. All day you hear the noise from birds and hornets and just before sunset the thrill of a 9 year old kid looking at the monkies swinging from tree to tree. It was unforgatable and very satisfatory for me to see my son's pride on his ancestry seeing his ability to deal with the local children and his interest in continuing to learn about his ancestry. A very interesting fact about Tikal is that it was build and developed during their classic period. which means that they had not any foreign influence and reach the peak of their civilization. That little boy is now 30 years old, college graduate, speaks three lenguages and wants to live and work in the maya lands. I must clrify that this was one of the most unfergetable trips we took in our lives.
 
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Tikal is a marvelous place - jungle, ruins, wildlife. I climbed all of the tall temples even though there were no steps or trails for several and in one case you had to climb a very rusted set of rungs to get up. I was amazed at the carved wooden lintels on the tops of the pyramids that had weathersd so many centuries. Being on the top of the pyramid and seeing flocks of noisy green parrots flying by was quite the experience. Also you get to see the jungle canopy and how the pyramid tops stand above it.
 
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In 1967, my husband and I spent part of our honeymoon visiting Tikal. (Our base in Guatemala was a hotel at Lake Atitlan that was owned by my husband's uncle who settled there after leaving Ukraine because of the Soviet Russian occupation). We flew in and out of the Tikal area on a propellor plane that landed on a dirt runway. The plane was guided in by a wind sock. We had to travel on the plane along with natives and their chickens and hay bales. I remember that it was very hot and humid in the jungle and that we had to walk to the site from our hotel because we missed the tour guide and his vehicle early one morning. In addition, we were served beer and a hot meal when we finished the tour! (I would have preferred some cold water, juice, and a sandwich instead). Since it was so HOT, we decided to leave Tikal and fly back to Guatemala City and the 'comforts' of our hotel there.
 
Emilia Bautista King (U.S.A.):
Tikal was a highlight of my 2-week stay in Guatemala. Before I left for Guatemala, I saw a travel program on TV about pyramids and it stated that the pyramids at Tikal were superior to those in Egypt. Since I haven't been to Egypt, I can't say I agree or disagree. The view from Temple IV is amazing. I also enjoyed the walk through the jungle in order to get to the North Acropolis. I was delighted by the spider monkeys and toucans!
Date posted: February 2006
Gonzalo Rodriguez (Peru):
Tikal is an incredible park. While climbing th temples or walking through its pathways, you feel like traveling in time to a different civilization with an incredible culture, way of life, religion. Is incredible.

Another important park is theRio Dulce National Park.
Date posted: August 2005
Veronica Sanchez (Lima, Peru):
Me gusta el parque nacional de Tikal. ES muy interesante y emocionado. Las ruinas antiguas son grandes y magnificas. Hay muchos pajaros a mirar. And then I almost drowned in the swamp and the alligator almost ate me.
 


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