{"id":9771,"date":"2022-02-03T09:41:24","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T09:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulysses.travel\/tikal-guatemala\/"},"modified":"2024-01-18T14:45:49","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T14:45:49","slug":"tikal-guatemala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ulysses.travel\/en\/tikal-guatemala\/","title":{"rendered":"The archaeological site of Tikal in Guatemala"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Lost in the Guatemalan jungle, Tikal is an incredibly well-preserved ancient city listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site: one of the most emblematic archeological sites in Latin America! Follow the guide <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udc4d The Captain’s top picks \ud83d\udc4d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Accommodation, flights, activities, excursions … You’ll find all the Captain’s suggestions at the end of the article<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Where is Tikal located?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The pre-Columbian archaeological site of Tikal is nestled in the middle of the tropical forest, in the region of P\u00e9t\u00e8n, in the far north of Guatemala. The ruins of Tikal are located some 65 kilometers from Flores, the region’s capital, on the shores of Lake Pet\u00e9n Itz\u00e1. The vast majority of visitors decide to stay in Flores and visit Tikal from the capital, but some tourist also choose to stay closer to the archeological site, in the town of El Remate, located 15 kilometers from Tikal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tikal National Park, where the archaeological site is located, is a 570 km2 protected forest area. The park itself is part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve which extends over Guatemala, Mexico and Belize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brief history of the archaeological site of Tikal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A major\npre-Columbian city<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the oldest remnants found in Tikal date from the 4th century BC, specialists estimate that people settled in Tikal as early as 800 BC. But the city truly reached its zenith between the 3rd and 9th centuries AD<\/strong>, before being abandoned at the end of the 10th century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tikal remained a major political, economic, religious and military center<\/strong> for centuries. The city was at the time the capital of one of the most powerful kingdoms of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, the Kingdom of Mutul<\/strong>. TIkal extended over approximately 16 km2 and comprised some 3,000 buildings. Archaeologists assume that 10,000 to 90,000 inhabitants lived in TIkal!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How could this civilization nestled in the heart of the jungle play such a significant role for so long? Tikal prospered thanks to trade with many other pre-Columbian cities<\/strong> – including Teotihuacan and Calakmul in Mexico, Copan in Honduras or Caracol in Belize -, but also thanks to intensive agriculture<\/strong>. This farming activity is all the more impressive considering that there was no water source nearby, no river, no lake, no cenote\u2026 only large reservoirs designed by the Mayas to collect rainwater. This lack of water is actually one of the reasons given by experts to explain the decline of Tikal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tikal<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A historic gem listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In any case, the site fell into oblivion in the 10th century and remained forgotten until its rediscovery in 1848. The archeological complex was named \u201cTikal\u201d at the time of the excavations. Theories vary as to the meaning of this Mayan word: some claim that it means “water hole”, while others argue that the translation would rather be “place of voices”. The mystery remains! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tikal was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site<\/strong> in 1979.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tikal<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tikal:\nbetween culture and nature<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A surprisingly well-preserved\narchaeological complex<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Graves, temples, palaces,\npyramids, dwellings, administrative buildings, public squares\u2026:\nTikal harbours countless historical treasures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No less than\n7 sports fields (where the Mayans played ball games) were discovered onsite,\nas well as huge reservoirs where rainwater was collected, “aguadas”. Some specialists\nalso believe that the city\ncounted a prison!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only about 20% of the Mayan ruins are now accessible to visitors, the remaining 80% are still buried under lush vegetation, and are currently beign excavated by archeologists! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors are free to explore large buildings and complexes, among which the Great Plaza, the North Acropolis, the Central Acropolis, the Lost World Pyramid and the Seven Temples Plaza. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Map-of-Tikal\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The archaeological site\nalso counts 2 museums: <\/p>\n\n\n\n