Tak'alik Ab'aj

I visited this WHS in Spring 2024 as a day trip from Antigua Guatemala. The day before my visit I was lucky to spot some original stone sculptures on display at the second floor of the National Museum of Guatemalan Art or MUNAG in Antigua Guatemala. It is best to leave very early as the mostly one lane roads to Tak'alik Ab'aj can see quite a lot of heavy traffic, mostly due to the banana plantation trucks and workers. Make sure not to visit on Mondays as otherwise the excellent Museo Caracol del Tiempo with most original stelae and sculptures will be closed. Spanish-speaking guides offer their services for a tip both at the museum and at the archaeological park.

The site is located over a series of 5 ascending terraces. You will enter at terrace 3 and if you take a photo of the numbered map with all the different sites to see, a solo unguided visit of all the sites under your own steam is easy to do. This pre-Columbian WHS has a very nice setting in the Guatemalan jungle (decent birdwatching too) and it is still being actively excavated, so you will see a lot of digs and cleaning going on during your visit. Tak'alik Abaj is still a religious center for the local Mayans. Visiting quite early just after sunrise, I was lucky to experience a few Shamans making offerings on the ancient altars around the site. The site was an important trade town from …

I visited Tak'alik Ab'aj during a trip to Guatemala in November 2021, my first trip abroad after the Covid-19 outbreak. I chose to visit this archaeological site on a day trip from Panajachel, a good choice as a base for visiting the Lake Atitlan TWHS. After numerous visits to travel agencies in town, I finally found someone who could take me there at an affordable price, and I was off the next day for the visit.

Only one other car was in the parking lot when we arrived. Several guides were also waiting at the entrance to accompany visitors. One of them was assigned to me free of charge. I had understood at the time that it was compulsory to be accompanied by a guide, but this was probably a misunderstanding on my part since Els was able to visit the site independently a few months later. Nevertheless, I was very happy to be accompanied by this friendly guide. He was able to provide all the information needed to visit this rather unremarkable site.

Indeed, you won't find any grandiose pyramids or finely decorated stelae here. The platforms are low and the sculptures rough and weathered. The latter, however, are the most interesting, and demonstrate the blend of Olmec and Mayan cultures that was put forward in the site's nomination dossier. Indeed, the Olmec sculptures here have been altered to match the beliefs of the Maya who subsequently occupied the site. In addition to the potbelly statues …

Guatemala’s 2022 WH nomination, Tak'alik Ab'aj, is a site that does not feature on the traditional Guatemala itineraries. It lies in the far southwest of the country, not really close to anything else of interest though the highlands and its indigenous villages are pretty in a Nepali/Bolivian way. I visited by public transport on a day trip from Quetzaltenango, which took 3 stages:

1. The chicken bus from the central bus station to Retalhuleu (shortened to Reu (“ray-yew”), so the bus route is called Xela – Reu, which fits so much better on the front of a bus than Quetzaltenango - Retalhuleu) (1h45, 20Q).
2. In Reu, move from La Galera bus terminal to the “Terminal de Taxis” by tuktuk. Another chicken bus was already waiting to take me to El Asintal (20 mins, 5Q).
3. From El Asintal, take a tuktuk to the archaeological site (10 mins, 15Q).

Upon nomination, Tak'alik Ab'aj may carry the epic subtitle “Mayan-Olmec Encounter”. More accurate however is that the place was an important trade town for a long period, from 800 BC to 900 AD. During that time, it has been influenced not only by the Maya and the Olmec, but also by Teotihuacan and regional Pacific potbelly sculptors. It was probably inhabited by changing ethnic groups.

The site lies in a subtropical moist forest, so prepare by applying a cocktail of sunscreen and mosquito repellent. The entrance fee for foreigners is 50Q. There were a few …

Guatemala hasn't inscribed any WHS since 1981, and their tentative list hardly gets updated. Almost all 2002 documentation is rubbish yet one of these, The Mayan-Olmecan Encounter (hereafter the M-O-E), had been resubmitted as Tak'alik Ab'aj National Park with an excellent description. I inquired if Tak’alik Ab’aj is the only site for the M-O-E and while technically not true it is the only touristy place, accessible place, "good" place to see the mix-up of the cultures.

First off, this is a bit far from the usual places in Guatemala. Me and my BFF took a road trip to the Fuentes Georginas hot springs (come very early if you want to go there it fills up fast!) and continued south to the park and ended up at the coast from where you can easily get back to Antigua - something I would recommend as itinerary. The road is pretty good, all paved and just the usual annoying road bump madness.

Second, do NOT expect Tikal, Calakmul, Chichen Itza or anything that grand. Most places here are in ruins. There is one set of grassy stairs that lead to what must have been a grande pyramid but it is just a grassy hill now. All other "highlights" are basically dig holes for carvings - and not very interesting ones for tourists to look at. Work seems to be ongoing. What you do see is unique, that's for sure, because the M-O-E is two cultures merging their architecture and starting out …