Amazing Pyramids

Mural of the way it used to be
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Tikal is amazing!!   It is a combination of a jungle nature tour as well as a history tour.  In total we spent three days in Tikal in total. 

First Day - Tour and Learning about Tikal

Pyramids, Alligators and Monkeys

Our first day we flew in to Tikal, we went to our hotel in Flores, dropped our bags at our hotel and caught a 10am bus to Tikal.  We had booked a tour that included the bus trip there, the entrance fee and an English speaking guide.  All up it cost us $20/each - a very good deal.

Tikal Central Map
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Francisco was our guide.  He had studied in Toronto, Canada for a short period of time and had very good English.  He prided himself on understanding not only Mayan history but also on respecting the Jungles nature.  Francisco was an excellent guide.  He took us to the various pyramids via less populated paths where we had a better chance of seeing the jungle animals.  We saw ant eaters, monkeys, birds and an alligator with its babies.  A wide variety of cats live in the jungle but are generally shy.  We didn't get lucky enough to see one but many people do.

Pyarmids in Jungle
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Tikal was originally settled more than 2000 years ago.  Around 900 AD the Mayan population and Tikal mysteriously declined in power (long before the Spaniards came) Tikal then disappeared from general conscience till about 150 years ago when it was rediscovered.

Tikal park is massive covering more than 500 square kilometers. The central area or city is more than 15 square kilometers alone and contains more than 4000 structures.  Francisco kept saying that it was like the New York of the Mayan civilization and you can see why.  More than 150,000 people lived in the central city area at its height.

Daph in front of pyramid
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Today the many of the pyramids are still overgrown by trees on one or more sides.  Often only one side of the pyramid is exposed.  Francisco told us that the trees were helping to hold the pyramid together and to remove them was a huge effort requiring a lot of money and effort.  He said unless the archeologists could prove that it was a very significant temple it was difficult to get funding to restore the temples. 

After we finished our tour of Tikal (about 4 hours) we had a late lunch and took the bus back to Flores. 

Stairs up overgrown pyramid
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Second Day - Staying in Tikal and Watching Sunset From the Top of a Pyramid

The next day we made arrangements to stay at the Tikal Inn inside the park.  This meant that we could see the sunset from the top of the pyramids as well as see the sun rise over the jungle.  You can only do this if you stay at one of the three hotels inside of the park.  About an hour before dusk we walked out to see the sunset.  We climbed several pyramids to see if the view would be good before we finally made up Lost World to see the sunset.  This is the best pyramid to climb.  On the walk back we were able to see the pyramids at night - very inspiring when you think that the Mayans were so in tune with the stars.

Big Pyramids
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Third Day - Listenging to Jungle Wakeup  from Top of a Temple

Tikal Inn was fantastic.  We had a great diner and very good night sleep.  The next morning we were up before sunrise and off to see the sunrise from the top of a pyramid to see the sun rise.  Very glad to have a couple of flash lights with us.  In the mornings there is a fair bit of fog so the sunrise is more of an awakening of the jungle experience than a sunrise experience but it is still well worth doing.  As you sit on the top of a pyramid above the jungle you hear birds start to chirp and monkeys howl.  The light grows stronger till you can see the tops of other pyramids emerge from the fog covered jungle top.

Paths to pyarmids
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On the way back from the sunrise we came across a group of monkeys.  They are generally very shy and will climb up to the tops of trees to get far away from humans.  They also pee to keep people away so you have to be careful not to get direcly below them.  We saw an entire family in the trees with their small babies.  As they climbed they swung from tree to tree.  Really great experience being able to see them in the wild.

We had a nice breakfast at the Jungle Inn and then went to catch our bus.  Since buses were typically late I figured I had some time to go and buy a mask.  As I walked out of the store I saw the bus go by with Daph in the back waving at me.  They had picked her up and were circling around to the various hotels to pick people up.  Luckly I was able to catch up to them and get on the bus. 

At top of pyramid waiting for sunrise
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We managed to get the bus to stop at the airport and caught our flight back to Gautemala city after having security go through all of our luggage.