Day 20: Tikal

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We left the hotel at 3am, were picked up in collectivos and whisked off to the ruins at Tikal for the sunrise at 5am. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our guide, Luis, who led the way on into the park and through the rainforest. Even in darkness, the spiritual importance of these Mayan ruins was instantly evident, particularly as the guides were adamant that we did not make a sound or use flash lights whilst walking up to the temples.

Scaling Temple IV at 5.20 as the sun rose, we were greeted by a magical view over the rainforest canopy, broken only by the towering Temple V and those in the Gran Plaza next to the Northern Acropolis. I highly recommend taking a sunrise tour at Tikal, as you get to view the park in a different light: not only is it less hot, but it is less crowded as regular punters are not allowed in before 8. Consequently you are able to see some incredible wildlife including toucans and howler monkeys. It was staggering that the place was so empty as we were guided until 11 when most of the buses began to arrive from nearby Flores, where all of the backpackers (myself included) stay. In my view, these buses had missed the best part; the view of the sun breaking over the canopy as the howler monkeys greeted the sunrise. All told, we spent 9 hours there, pottering around the more remote temples, you could spend days there, although if you were to stray from the paths, it would be unlikely that you would emerge from the rainforest for a few days at least.

* Tikal is about a 90 minute bus ride away from Flores.
* There are over 13,000 structures in the Tikal park, but only fraction have been excavated. Guatemala does not have the funds to uncover more at this moment in time, but I would imagine that in a few years even more will be accessible to the public.
* Personally, I felt that the mainland town, Santa Elena is a bit of a dive. Only venture over there if the ATMs in Flores are not working. It is a pretty uncomfortable place to walk around late at night. So stay on the island (Flores).

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