It's almost as much a pain to leave Lanquin as it is to get there. Almost. The major advantage of the road towards Flores is that the quality of the roads tends to improve dramatically as you exit the mountainous region and progress to the more hilly parts. It's not exactly the Pan-American highway, but sort of close enough. Regardless, it's a long drive. About eight hours in a mini-bus (it's exactly what it sounds like). The scenery is quite beautiful, although the rows and rows (and rows) of coffee trees tend to get less interesting after about four hours.
And why did we make all this effort? It's not so much our destination, which is Flores. It's about what's close to Flores: the ancient Maya city of Tikal. It's the one destination that is on every Guatamala itinerary (probably together with Antigua and Lago de Atitlan). And even if you haven't been to or even plan to go to Guatemala, chances are you've seen it anyway. Not because of the board game with the same name. No, it's more subtle. It's Star Wars. Tikal was where they shot the imagines of Yavin 4, the rebel headquarters before it was moved to Hoth. I honestly had to look it up to recognise it, but I can confirm that it's true. No Millennium Falcon in the sky when we were there though. Slight disappointment.
Most of the people on their way to Tikal arrive and stay in Flores. So did we. Though nearby El Remate is supposedly more tranquil, Flores functioned well as a base to explore the region. It is littered with travel agencies, though not all are as honest as you'd like. One of them is company called San Juan. They runs most of the shuttles in the area. They actually board the shuttles when they arrive to Flores (or more accurately, the nearby Saint Helena) and start to push the services they offer. If you plan to visit, do a Google search. We did and knew what to expect when the guy 'joined' us for the last 500 meters from Saint Helena to Flores. The one advice to follow is: don't listen to anything they say. We left the guy as soon as we arrived and never saw him again.
Other than that minor annoyance, Flores is a nice little place. It's on a small island, connected to the aforementioned Saint Helena by a bridge. It's maybe a bit touristic and too 'polished', but as Saint Helena is rather dusty and dirty, the choice between the two isn't a very difficult one. Wandering around the island doesn't take too long. In maybe two hours you've seen most of the highlights, which, other than the square, mostly consists of the lakeside view from the promenade around the island. One downside during our stay was the noise on the island. Although the new year had long since started, fireworks were still very popular, especially during the night. Before that there was a fiesta on the square (which, since the island is small, is close to everything), which was followed by a procession with music and dolls in the morning. This was partly compensated by the fact that for our first time in Guatemala - after more than two weeks - we had an excellent shower with plenty of warm water. So kudos to you, people of Casa Amelia.
But then the main event: Tikal. As said this Maya site attracts many visitors, which is mainly due to the impressive temples towering in and above the chaotic jungle surroundings. What is actually more interesting than the stones stacked 44 meters in the shape of a pyramid, is how they came to be. The limestone towers that make up this park are the results of hundreds of years of rising and falling. Of empires, wars and the downfall of a society. The city, it is estimated, had more than 100.000 residents at its peak. Now the only permanent residents on these sites are howler-monkeys, various kinds of birds and other less benign creatures such as (poisonous) snakes.
To get an idea of the amount on history that this place carries, we have to go back 2700 years. At around 700 BC the first Mayans settled here. At 500 BC the first structures - so nothing near the size of the ones still standing today - started to appear. More than 750 years later Tikal started to rise to prominence as a regional commercial, religious and cultural centre. Military success followed. Expanded territory also made it also harder to mange and a more desirable target for conquest. An invasion from what we now call Belize struck a blow, and deprived Tikal of the good fortunes it had enjoyed in the hundreds of years before. The tables turned again at the end of the 7th century. The now legendary Ha Sawa Chaan K'awil (who's apparently also referred to as 'Ah Cacao, God knows why) paved the way for Tikal's rebirth as a local powerhouse. He, accidentally, is also the one who built most of the temples that you see at Tikal today. And he's buried under one. His bones are supposedly still under the Templo I.
Of course we wouldn't be standing around ruins these days if the good times had lasted. Around 900 Tikal, and the Maya lowland civilization in general, started filling into decline never to rise to prominence again. Note that this had nothing to do with the Spanish. They wouldn't arrive to Guatemala for hundreds of years after Tikal fell into ruin (pun intended). So what caused the decline? The general theory seems to be a water shortage. Cutting down so many trees to create stone to make big temples is apparently not good for maintaining a balance with the local ecosystem. Personally, it sounds a bit far-fetched to me. But that's also because it's hard to imagine this lush green area once barren and dry. Fact is, something happened that led this great civilization to fall. And it fell far. The temples were abandoned and the jungle took over. Literally. Only in the mid 1800s, Tikal was more or less rediscovered. By then most of the impressive buildings here had been fully overtaken by the jungle. Even now, only 20 percent of the park is uncovered. So almost any 'hill' that you encounter here, was once a building that was once used as a temple, palace or even a home.
Thought Tikal is a large and impressive complex, spending a couple of hours there covers the most interesting parts. There is an option of staying in the park, which is apparently highly recommended, as you can explore the park in the morning before most visitors arrive. However, Tikal isn't crazy busy. We arrived late in the morning and still were able to enjoy the park in relatively peaceful conditions. As we only had two days, we decided to divide them between Tikal and Yaxha, the other site nearby. This is where we had our 'sunset-tour' (it's a thing). It basically means you end your tour on a temple and watch the sunset, which is cool but less spectacular than the travel agencies make it out to be. What is cool is that you hear the jungle get very active during dusk and then get quiet as night falls.
After Tikal, Yaxha and Flores, it's time for last real destination: Rio Dulce!
And why did we make all this effort? It's not so much our destination, which is Flores. It's about what's close to Flores: the ancient Maya city of Tikal. It's the one destination that is on every Guatamala itinerary (probably together with Antigua and Lago de Atitlan). And even if you haven't been to or even plan to go to Guatemala, chances are you've seen it anyway. Not because of the board game with the same name. No, it's more subtle. It's Star Wars. Tikal was where they shot the imagines of Yavin 4, the rebel headquarters before it was moved to Hoth. I honestly had to look it up to recognise it, but I can confirm that it's true. No Millennium Falcon in the sky when we were there though. Slight disappointment.
Most of the people on their way to Tikal arrive and stay in Flores. So did we. Though nearby El Remate is supposedly more tranquil, Flores functioned well as a base to explore the region. It is littered with travel agencies, though not all are as honest as you'd like. One of them is company called San Juan. They runs most of the shuttles in the area. They actually board the shuttles when they arrive to Flores (or more accurately, the nearby Saint Helena) and start to push the services they offer. If you plan to visit, do a Google search. We did and knew what to expect when the guy 'joined' us for the last 500 meters from Saint Helena to Flores. The one advice to follow is: don't listen to anything they say. We left the guy as soon as we arrived and never saw him again.
Other than that minor annoyance, Flores is a nice little place. It's on a small island, connected to the aforementioned Saint Helena by a bridge. It's maybe a bit touristic and too 'polished', but as Saint Helena is rather dusty and dirty, the choice between the two isn't a very difficult one. Wandering around the island doesn't take too long. In maybe two hours you've seen most of the highlights, which, other than the square, mostly consists of the lakeside view from the promenade around the island. One downside during our stay was the noise on the island. Although the new year had long since started, fireworks were still very popular, especially during the night. Before that there was a fiesta on the square (which, since the island is small, is close to everything), which was followed by a procession with music and dolls in the morning. This was partly compensated by the fact that for our first time in Guatemala - after more than two weeks - we had an excellent shower with plenty of warm water. So kudos to you, people of Casa Amelia.
But then the main event: Tikal. As said this Maya site attracts many visitors, which is mainly due to the impressive temples towering in and above the chaotic jungle surroundings. What is actually more interesting than the stones stacked 44 meters in the shape of a pyramid, is how they came to be. The limestone towers that make up this park are the results of hundreds of years of rising and falling. Of empires, wars and the downfall of a society. The city, it is estimated, had more than 100.000 residents at its peak. Now the only permanent residents on these sites are howler-monkeys, various kinds of birds and other less benign creatures such as (poisonous) snakes.
To get an idea of the amount on history that this place carries, we have to go back 2700 years. At around 700 BC the first Mayans settled here. At 500 BC the first structures - so nothing near the size of the ones still standing today - started to appear. More than 750 years later Tikal started to rise to prominence as a regional commercial, religious and cultural centre. Military success followed. Expanded territory also made it also harder to mange and a more desirable target for conquest. An invasion from what we now call Belize struck a blow, and deprived Tikal of the good fortunes it had enjoyed in the hundreds of years before. The tables turned again at the end of the 7th century. The now legendary Ha Sawa Chaan K'awil (who's apparently also referred to as 'Ah Cacao, God knows why) paved the way for Tikal's rebirth as a local powerhouse. He, accidentally, is also the one who built most of the temples that you see at Tikal today. And he's buried under one. His bones are supposedly still under the Templo I.
Of course we wouldn't be standing around ruins these days if the good times had lasted. Around 900 Tikal, and the Maya lowland civilization in general, started filling into decline never to rise to prominence again. Note that this had nothing to do with the Spanish. They wouldn't arrive to Guatemala for hundreds of years after Tikal fell into ruin (pun intended). So what caused the decline? The general theory seems to be a water shortage. Cutting down so many trees to create stone to make big temples is apparently not good for maintaining a balance with the local ecosystem. Personally, it sounds a bit far-fetched to me. But that's also because it's hard to imagine this lush green area once barren and dry. Fact is, something happened that led this great civilization to fall. And it fell far. The temples were abandoned and the jungle took over. Literally. Only in the mid 1800s, Tikal was more or less rediscovered. By then most of the impressive buildings here had been fully overtaken by the jungle. Even now, only 20 percent of the park is uncovered. So almost any 'hill' that you encounter here, was once a building that was once used as a temple, palace or even a home.
Thought Tikal is a large and impressive complex, spending a couple of hours there covers the most interesting parts. There is an option of staying in the park, which is apparently highly recommended, as you can explore the park in the morning before most visitors arrive. However, Tikal isn't crazy busy. We arrived late in the morning and still were able to enjoy the park in relatively peaceful conditions. As we only had two days, we decided to divide them between Tikal and Yaxha, the other site nearby. This is where we had our 'sunset-tour' (it's a thing). It basically means you end your tour on a temple and watch the sunset, which is cool but less spectacular than the travel agencies make it out to be. What is cool is that you hear the jungle get very active during dusk and then get quiet as night falls.
After Tikal, Yaxha and Flores, it's time for last real destination: Rio Dulce!
Before they start excavation
When they're halfway through.
Done!
View from one of the temples. There's just jungle for miles around this ancient Maya city. Also, this is where they filmed Star Wars!
As mentioned it took many years to excavate these temples. As the limestone is fragile, removing all the vegetation (including roots growing into the structure) takes years.
Templo I, a massive structure, mirror by a sister structure in a (nowadays) well-kept square. It's the area that really makes you realise that there once was a flourishing culture here, in what is now a jungle.
Panorama shot conveys it even more.
More jungle towering structures.
Similar to Tikal though smaller in terms of the height, the amount of structures and types of buildings excavated, Yaxha is still very nice to visit if you have the time!
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