Guatemala

Tikal National Park

WHS Score 4.46
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Votes for Tikal National Park

3.0

  • Adrian Turtschi

3.5

  • Eric Lurio
  • kelseyyurek

4.0

  • ALS
  • Els Slots
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  • Ilya Burlak
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4.5

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5.0

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Tikal National Park comprises the remains of a major center of the Maya civilization, located within a forest that is rich in animal and plant diversity.

Tikal was one of the most important political, economic and military centres of the Ancient Maya, who reigned over large parts of the region during its heydays between 200 and 900. The site shows different stages of their evolution, resulting in monumental structures such as pyramids, temples, ball courts, stone stelae, water reservoirs and a network of causeways (sacbe). Animals include jaguar, puma, tapir, howler monkeys, anteaters, crocodiles, and more than 300 bird species.

Community Perspective: "You get it all at Tikal": the main ruins are spectacular and its rainforest environment is still intact. Allow at least 2 days. It is also directly accessible by public transport.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Tikal National Park (ID: 64)
Country
Guatemala
Status
Inscribed 1979 Site history
History of Tikal National Park
1979: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Mixed
Criteria
  • i
  • iii
  • iv
  • ix
  • x
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • April 8, 2025 france24.com — Teotihuacan altar found at Tikal
  • Nov. 30, 2020 smithsonianmag.com — Researchers Uncover 2,000-Year-Old Maya Water Filtration System
  • Nov. 28, 2019 dailymail.co.uk — Two tourists are caught defacing 1,300-year-old Mayan temple by carving their initials into the wall
  • Dec. 25, 2012 fijitimes.com — Tourists flocking to Guatemala for "end of the world" parties have damaged an ancient stone temple at Tikal

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Natural landscape: Forest
  • Archaeological site: Pre-Columbian
  • Archaeological site: Prehistoric
Travel Information
No travel information
Recent Connections
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Connections of Tikal National Park
Trivia
History
  • Formative stage
    Major construction at Tikal was already taking place in the Late Preclassic period, first appearing around 400–300 BC, including the building of major pyramids and platforms, although the city was still dwarfed by sites further north such as El Mirador and Nakbe (wiki)

    See en.wikipedia.org

  • Mayan culture
    Tikal National Park is an outstanding example of the art and human genius of the Maya. (OUV)
  • Queens and Empresses
    Lady of Tikal (Maya queen) described on several of its stelae

    See en.wikipedia.org

Ecology
World Heritage Process
Human Activity
Constructions
WHS on Other Lists
Timeline
Science and Technology
Visiting conditions
18
  • James Bond in Movies
    Moonraker (1979)
  • Star Wars
    The ancient ruins of Tikal and the surrounded forest were depicted as the Rebel Alliance’s military base on the fourth moon of Yavin in “A New Hope”
News
france24.com 04/08/2025
Teotihuacan altar found at Tikal
smithsonianmag.com 11/30/2020
Researchers Uncover 2,000-Year-Old…
dailymail.co.uk 11/28/2019
Two tourists are caught defacing 1…
Recent Visitors
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Community Reviews

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First published: 23/03/24.

Ilya Burlak

Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park (Inscribed)

Tikal National Park by Ilya Burlak

I visited Tikal in December of 2023 on a day trip from Western Belize. Echoing the past reviewers, the huge site well deserves various superlatives. The Grand Plaza is the most impressive cluster of temples and acropolises anywhere, the pyramid at El Mundo Perdido and the Temple IV are among can't-miss structures, and there are many hidden treasures found throughout the park.

A true connoisseur could probably spend several days here exploring all of the different remnants of the ancient civilization as well as the diverse natural surroundings. However, the aforementioned main highlights can be seen in the space of three to four hours, which allows for day-tripping options. There may be fairly long car queues at the National Park entrance and then lines at the visitor center. Having a guide saved us the wait times and obviously helped with both the narration and the navigation of the site. The guide also suggested that we utilize an infrequent shuttle from the visitor center to the core of the site (at $1 per person), which saved us some time and effort at the very start of the walking circuit.

The round trip from San Ignacio took about nine hours in total, including border crossings, the drives, and the lunch onsite. Having a driver with superior pothole-evading skills was highly beneficial, as the road is well-paved only inside the park and on a stretch close to the border. TikalGo offers both group and private options, and I was pleasantly surprised …

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First published: 21/03/22.

Els Slots

Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park (Inscribed)

Tikal National Park by Els Slots

Since my previous visit, 25 years ago, I had forgotten what Tikal looked like. It has a real ‘lost city’ feel, especially at the main plaza. With its white stucco elements and honeycomb towers, it has a different architectural style than the other Maya sites. There’s much more to see than the pyramids: I encountered petroglyphs, steam baths, water reservoirs (Tikal had no access to water other than what was collected from rainwater), stelae, giant stucco masks, and historical graffiti too. Howler monkeys, Geoffroy’s spider monkeys, coatis (pizotes), and agoutis are mammals that are easily seen as well.

This time I explored the park in 2 sessions, from 14-17 on the first day and the next day from 6-10. I stayed overnight near the entrance at the Tikal Inn. I walked 10 and 12kms respectively during these visits, and believe to have covered all there is to see. Maps.me works and will show the approximate location of all structures (the connecting smaller paths aren’t displayed that accurately). The way to the Exit (Salida) is always signposted. There aren’t special Covid measures at the site, which is mostly unsupervised anyway. Especially the morning session was very quiet, with hardly any other visitors around.

My Highlights

  • View above the canopy from the Mundo Perdido pyramid (it’s also the only place where your phone will pick up a 4g signal),
  • Palace of the Grooves (building with grooved vertical panels, entered via a narrow …
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First published: 13/11/19.

Frédéric M

Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park (Inscribed)

Tikal National Park by Frédéric M

Tikal was the last major prehispanic archeological site I visited on my Mexico-Guatemala-Belize trip last winter. And it was the best one!

The size of the site (gigantic), the number of pyramids and structure (numerous), the quality of the pyramids (amazing) and the wildlife (abundant) cannot be compared with other sites (even with Palenque). Me and my friend visited on a tour book at our hostel in Flores. We didn't took the sunrise tour, but rather the early bird one arriving in Tikal for opening. I think it's the best time to visit as it is not a ridiculously early wake-up, the crowds are still manageable and the wildlife is active. Our tour last half a day, and we head back to Flores at noon.

The most interesting complexes are la Gran Plaza, el Mundo Perdido, la Plaza de los Siete Templos and el Templo IV. It's a good idea to have a guide here to truly understand the site. Many pyramids and temples can be climbed on wooden structures. The view from la Gran Piramide de Mundo Perdido and from el Templo IV are nice. It's also nice to climb on Templo II and on both Acropolis Norte y Central to get the view over la Gran Plaza.

Wildlife we spotted include a lot of coatis, an agouti and howler and spider monkeys. Even without binoculars, we spotted 19 bird species, including cool ones such as great curassow, ocellated turkey, limpkin, slaty-tailed trogon, black-headed trogon, collared …

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First published: 04/03/19.

Dennis Nicklaus

Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park (Inscribed)

Tikal National Park by Dennis Nicklaus

Tikal was the first ancient Maya site that I ever visited, and it remains my favorite one. I've since visited about 20 others, but Tikal still stands above them all. The combination of the lush jungle and the steep pyramids poking above the canopy with their delicate roof combs above the top temple rooms was just fantastic. I loved the combination of the imposing pyramids with the detailed hieroglyphic stellae and the occasional giant stucco mask. You get it all at Tikal, whereas other places, like Calakmul, for example, disappointed me a little because it didn't have much of the finer art, like stellae, while it had plenty of impressive massive buildings. When we visited Tikal (1988) you could still climb on any of the structures, although a couple of them required getting up some rickety wooden ladders. I still remember how scary it was to climb the very narrow steps and having respect for the ancient Maya who had to ascend and descend these staircases routinely

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First published: 20/02/16.

Clyde

Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park (Inscribed)

Tikal National Park by Clyde

I visited this WHS in December 2015. I drove from Palenque to Tikal by car through the El Ceibo border. Tikal is definitely Guatemala's highlight and one of the best WHS I've visited so far. The rainforest environment is still intact although the central plaza has been cleared. However, 'VIP service' buses/vans should not be allowed inside the historical area proper as is currently done from the back roads for the older wealthy tourists. However, apart from this practice, the main ruins are spectacular as are the minor ones still full of scrub and overcome by the jungle. Tikal is the best preserved example of an ancient Mayan city. Climbing is prohibited mainly on Temple I although access to the other main temple structures is gained by climbing wooden stairs on the back of the structures. As always, birdlife and fauna is most 'active' at sunrise/sunset. It's worth staying at least 2-3 days to be able to enjoy the park at different times of the day. The sunrise hype can easily be skipped as it's the only time when the site is really packed and since it is frequently misty, there is nothing you'd miss if instead you stay in the lodge in the national park (except the crowds and the early wake up call at 03:30!).

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First published: 27/02/06.

Anonymous

Tikal National Park

Tikal National Park (Inscribed)

Tikal National Park by Els Slots

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!

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