This is from our bi-monthly series on underrated destinations, It’s Still a Big World.
It rises 154 feet above you, its ascent is so steep that when you climb it you almost feel that you fall on your back, however, the Temple of the Jaguar of Tikal, so the only destination for travelers in this corner of Guatemala, only lets a glimpse of the wonders here. In fact, Tikal is today one of the least exciting attractions one can find in Petén, the region known as “the center of the Mayan world. “
Don’t get me wrong, Tikal is still a destination to visit, however, there are a few main points that make it look more like an amusement park than the much-hyped old and mystical center.
However, it gives a golden opportunity. In the most sensitive of Temple IV, our brain lets itself wander, according to the sounds emitted through the jungle, to believe the secrets that are hidden under the leafy trees and wonder if it is imaginable to perceive them in a more “natural” way. . .
And yes, we are lucky, it can be done. But those characteristics require special intellectual and physical preparation, because you have to enter the dense tropical nature of Petén, and you will have to sleep in archaeological camps, and show a strong enough spirit to face an endless horde of mosquitoes in conditions to consume you raw.
For those who enjoy a Mayan edition of a jungle safari, they can hike and hike other trails in three days with a final destination from Tikal. Start at El Zotz, which is the Mayan word for “bat. “This archaeological site is located about 30 km west of Tikal and has about 39 other species of bats.
Uaxactún is a Mayan people known for its structure similar to stargazing. It is located about 14 kilometers west of Tikal.
The walk created and controlled by members of the local communities who live within the forest, as it is one of the few tactics for them to get their hands on the monetary opportunities of tourism. And since most of this tropical paradise is protected, this is your only way in. During this 30 km trip, you will have the opportunity to come into contact with creatures such as gray foxes, toxic snakes, birds, tapirs and other microfauna.
Usually, throughout your stay in the jungle, you will hear the sounds of thousands of cicadas mixing with the songs of toucans and other exotic birds moving through the dense foliage. The guides have lived in the jungle all their lives, as far as they know. the symptoms left by wildlife and if you stay close to them you will avoid the bite of a YellowBeard (yellow bearded snake), one of the deadliest in all of Latin America.
This hike has a moment of great appeal: a rock formation called “Peñón de los Murciélagos”, a cave that houses thousands of the only species of bats that offer an herbal spectacle, at sunset, when they jump to start their day. You’ll see a huge cloud flying, and you’ll soon realize that you’re not the only player in this show. If you pay close attention, you may see other birds of prey, eager to take their last snack of the day. Wild food to go, if you want.
There is something magical that one feels when diving into this green ocean, where the incessant hum of cicadas creates an intimate and primordial place, where one stops wondering, simply sinks. And that is the greatest charm of this walk, because it is the same herbalist environment that teaches us to appreciate what we have in front of us. As we said, intellectual preparation is essential to be able to appreciate the small important points that such a thing gives us.
And unsurprisingly, the rest camps are very basic, but their lack of comfort is compensated by the friendliness of the local guides.
Tikal and Uaxactún are interconnected, so the moment is an opportunity for those flying to Guatemala to learn about the legacy of the ancient Maya.
When you return to Tikal and pay attention to the voices of other tourists who walk its trails, climb its pyramids, you will feel an aggregate of sensations: on the one hand, the relief of enjoying the benefits of modernity, such as bathrooms, and on the other hand, the satisfaction of having arrived in Tikal in a non-traditional way, loaded with a power difficult to describe.
A three-day, two-night hike inside Central America’s largest rainforest can be considered a crash course in “how to live in the jungle. “But survival and excitement don’t necessarily require such intense and excessive decisions.
Two and a half hours northwest of the Island of Flores, the hotel zone of Petén, is a resort, with comfortable rooms, stunning views and gastronomy where you can observe exciting activities with exotic animals in their herbal environment, called Las Guacamayas Biological Station.
Unlike the previous experience, the concept here is to mix the comfort of a charming hotel, with air conditioning, freshly made beds and hot water, with a variety of activities that involve contact with nature.
Wildlife is a big component of the Mayan jungle experience. Due to its prestige as an area, the largest in Central America, it is the ideal place to practice exotic wildlife.
For example, there is the “Adventure in Nature” package, where for 3 days you can walk in nature and see owls, other types of reptiles, birds and insects and the endemic petenero crocodile, a fast freshwater crocodile that can reach up to 10 feet long. There is the possibility of taking an exclusive kayak on a river called Sakaluk, surrounded by Mayan sites and nature reserves. During your Array you can make a stopover at the archaeological site of Waka Peru. This ancient Mayan village is the largest known prehistoric site in Laguna del Tigre. National park.
Why does a historical site in Guatemala bear the name of Peru?You might wonder. Well, this call given by the locals a century ago, however, its original call, engraved in stone hieroglyphics, is Waka, which means aquatic position of the centipedes.
Yaxhá and Puerto Arturo
If you’ve made it this far, you may believe that almost everything you can do in Petén is similar to ancient archaeological sites, wildlife, and stunning grassy landscapes. Yaxhá and Puerto Arturo are no others and are available through other organized tours from Isla de Flores.
Yaxhá is located northeast of Petén and, like Tikal, impresses first with its large and well-preserved structures. His call was found in a rock full of hieroglyphics, and means “green water. “The hieroglyph represents the head of a parrot, and researchers this may simply be due to the presence of green and blue parrots in the area, or to the presence of two lagoons, Yaxhá and Sacnab, whose waters are turquoise.
Puerto Arturo is a pristine wetland, home to a variety of species such as the jaguar, many other species of birds, crocodiles, reptiles and many more. The locals offer a safari-like party in which tourists can come into contact with those animals.
It has more than 500 structures, adding 40 stelae, 13 altars, nine pyramids, two ball courts and a network of causeways connecting the central, east and north Acropolis with the plazas and outskirts.
Puerto Arturo, like Yaxhá, is a wetland, and its state of conservation is so virgin, that the only thing that has come to the brain of the network is to advertise clinical tourism, since it is an ideal domain for studies on everything that inhabits this domain of the Mesoamerican tropics near the border with Mexico.
Puerto Arturo, Yaxhá and all the destinations discussed so far are located in the largest protected domain of angels in all of Central America: the Maya Biosphere Angel Reserve, or RBM. Here, a series of studies are carried out on the fitness of ecosystems, as well as the abundance of the other species of animals that live there.
Las Guaca might not be a biological station as a tourist destination, but its prospects are. Five minutes from the hotel, a viewpoint allows you to see the Mayan jungle.
As part of those studies, locals came up with the idea of attractive scientists and researchers coming here and conducting their own studies, while getting away from modern life. But if you’re not a scientist, the attractive thing is to be able to see where those studies are carried out, see how they place and monitor the hereras traps obtained and, if you are lucky, glimpse the jaguar, the maximum sacred and respected animal of the ancient Maya.
“We take them and show them where the jaguar could have passed. We open the cameras, show tourists their footprints in the dust and take them to the water wells where they hang out,” said Mynor Hernandez Zapata, one of the guides and protectors of the Puerto Arturo forest.
While Tikal will still win the crown of being a magnificent treasure, other jewels of the dense, green jungle will have to be explored. Petén is a place to live unforgettable adventures; its beautiful views, surrounded by ruins and temples, make it an exclusive place to stop in Guatemala. There is no other site in Central America to see local wildlife up close and be informed about one of the most influential civilizations in history through a scale. Eat other Mayan sites.