04G Tik 023 - a photo on Flickriver

04G Tik 023

Seven Central American Weeks.

Tikal, one of the largest Mayan archaeological sites, found in the middle of a rainforest in Northen Guatemala. Around 3000 structures are dotted around a 6sq mile site. Some of the limestone temples are over 70meters tall. Palaces, pyramids, platforms, plazas, stone monuments, a jail, sports courts, water reservoirs can all be found at Tikal.

Earliest sections of the site date to 4th centuary BC. Tikal reached its peak of power during Mesoamerica's 'Classic Period', around 830AD.

In the latter half of the 9th century there was an attempt to revive royal power at the much-diminished city of Tikal, as evidenced by a stela erected in the Great Plaza in 869. This was the last monument erected at Tikal before the city finally fell into silence. The former satellites of Tikal, such as Jimbal and Uaxactun, did not last much longer, erecting their final monuments in 889. By the end of the 9th century the vast majority of Tikal's population had deserted the city, its royal palaces were occupied by squatters and simple thatched dwellings were being erected in the city's ceremonial plazas.

After 950, Tikal was all but deserted, and the rainforest claimed the ruins for the next thousand years. The most likely cause of collapse at Tikal was overpopulation and agrarian failure. Tikal had no water other than what was collected from rainwater and stored in reservoirs. Long periods of drought could occur before the crops ripened, severely threatening the city's supply of food.

As a result of the site's remoteness, no explorers visited Tikal until Modesto Méndez, Ambrosio Tut and artist Eusebio Lara visited in 1848. Several other expeditions came to map and photograph Tikal before archaeologists started to clear and record the ruins in the 1880s. From 1956 through 1970, major archaeological excavations were carried out by the University of Pennsylvania, as well as restoration work on the structures. The Guatemalan government continue this work between 1979 and 1984.

The original Star Wars film, A New Hope used Tikal as a location for 'Yavin IV' in the 1970s. Parts of James Bond's Moonraker were also film here.

The site is now in the middle of large National Park and attracts 250,000 tourists a year.

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Seven Central American Weeks.

On arriving Guatemala the weather wasn't great, so before heading to Tikal we spent a day or two in Flores.
Flores, a pretty lakeside town an hour's drive from Tikal had a backpackers feel with a nice sprinkling of tourist traps.
Online reviews confirmed that many of the tour companies based here were scammers, some even said that the whole town was 'in on it'. I assume that repeat custom isn't one of their aims, while filling every minibus to the max and quick turnaround times are.

We booked our trip to Tikal, and were persuaded to go at dawn where we'd witness sunrise from the top of one of the pyramids. This turned out to be total bollocks, as we 'witnessed sunrise' while queuing at the gate of the national park.
The journey to the site was unnecessary uncomfortable and long, the guide at the site was vague and seem to be simply reading the information boards. I would highly recommend anyone visiting to arrange their own transport and find a recommended guide.
The place is awesome, but our experience was shoddy.

www.flickr.com/photos/normanpreis/collections/72157697665...

Taken on: February 10, 2018

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Sets appears in: • Tikal & Flores, Guatemala

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