Tikal and Flores

The border crossing from Mexico to Guatemala was quite unique and went surprisingly smooth. In Mexico, I visited the small immigration office in Frontera Corozal where I was asked to pay M$100 for a re-entry visa to Mexico. Then I walked down to the Usumacinta river which forms the border between Mexico and Guatemala. I joined some fellow backpackers for the 20 minute boat ride to the Guatemalan side. Once I had disembarked on a muddy riverbank I went through immigration (I was asked to pay a US$5 immigration fee) and waited for the inland bus to take me to the small island town of Flores on Lake Peten Itza. The bus journey took 4 hours and I arrived in Flores at 3pm.

Flores

Flores is a quiet and peaceful place. Also, it is probably one of the safest places in the sometimes wild north of Guatemala, probably due to the restricted access to the town which is set on an island in Lake Peten Itza. Although quite small, the island of Flores is home to a number of restaurants, hotels and guest houses. It makes an excellent base to visit the ruins of Tikal which are 65km away from Flores.

The Hospedaje Doña Goya 2 has clean and cheap en-suite rooms (Q70) and a great rooftop terrace with a great lake view, hammocks and a cool evening breeze. The Villa del Chef is a restaurant just down the road which offers great sunset views and good food.

Tikal

In the heart of the jungle lies Tikal, one of the major sites of Mayan civilization (the entrance ticket is a steep Q150). Guatemala's cultural gem dates back as far as 500 BC and grew into one of the largest and most powerful of the Mayan cities between 200 and 900 AD. At its peak, it was home to 70,000 people but later it was completely abandoned and consumed by the jungle for several hundred years. Today, it is one of the most fascinating and enjoyable Mayan sites to visit. The site contains a number of impressive buildings which have been restored, but is is also home to many more ruined buildings still enveloped by the jungle.

The Tikal ruins are located in the Tikal National Park. If you intend to visit Tikal on a day trip from Flores you should buy a return bus ticket with an open return time. I chose San Juan Travel who leave Flores every hour on the hour between 6am and 10am, with return buses from Tikal between 2pm and 6pm (Q60 return). In addition, there is another bus which leaves Flores at 5am and comes with a guided tour at Tikal (Q150).

Tikal, surrounded by ever-creeping vegetation and screeching wildlife feels organic and strangely vivid. It is as if when the inhabitants of the city left, the jungle moved in, keeping it alive until the Mayans could return. Tikal has the feel of a living ruin, closer to its original vitality than perhaps any other deserted city of the past.
Ethan Whitehill, New York Times, 16 December 2007

Tikal has an estimated 3,000 structures including temples, palaces, shrines, ceremonial platforms, residences, ball courts and plazas. There are more than 200 stone monuments known as stelae, carved with glyphs and other images. There are 5 large temples: Temple I or Temple of the Great Jaguar, standing at around 44m, Temple II or Temple of the Masks, 37m, Temple III or Temple of the Jaguar Priest, 60m, Temple IV or Temple of the Double Headed Serpent, 70m and finally Temple V at 59m.

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