Tikal
Days One & Two - Belize & Guatemala - 2017
After arriving in Belize and transferring to San Ignacio, I take a day trip to the Mayan ruins at Tikal, Guatemala.
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
1. Belizean Sunset
The day’s last rays of sun strike San Ignacio, Belize.
My flight into Belize City arrived around mid-day. I pre-booked a group transfer to San Ignacio, but -since I was the first to arrive- I went and had a couple of Belikins at a bar adjoining the airport. About an hour later, my transfer companions arrived and we were ready to roll. Rather than travel directly to San Ignacio (a city in the west of Belize, and my base for the next few days), the driver took us on a driving tour around Belize City and Belmopan en route to San Ignacio. My guess is that since most international flights arrive around the same time of day, taxi drivers can only fit in two routes a day -one from San Ignacio, and one from Belize City- and this is their way of earning some side money by way of extra tips for the tour. Regardless of the reasoning, it was perhaps the most informative airport transfer I’ve ever had. It also made me glad I skipped Belize City and Belmopan on my itinerary, as the former was little more than a jumping-off point for beachgoers (not my speed), while the latter was perhaps the most understated capital city in the world.
Traversing the whole of Belize in a couple of hours, I arrived at my accommodation -the pleasant Windy Hill Resort- for the next few days. After settling in, I took a quick constitutional around the property’s gardens and happened to catch sunset.
2. The Day’s Last Light
I enjoyed walking around Windy Hill’s gardens - a great, relaxing way to start a vacation!
3. Lake Petén Itzá
Despite having no outflowing rivers, Lake Petén Itzá is not a salt lake.
The following morning, I had booked a day trip to Tikal across the border in Guatemala. Departing San Ignacio early in the morning, we crossed the Belize-Guatemala border shortly thereafter (a chore, to say the least, given political tensions between the two nations). After a long drive on a winding Guatemalan highway, we took a quick stop in El Remate on the shores of Lake Petén Itzá.
4. Complex “Q”
The completely restored Complex “Q” dates to 771.
Arriving in Tikal, we linked up with our tour guide for our day hike through Tikal. Our guide tactfully avoided heading to the more popular Plaza area of the grounds, instead taking us along the northern end of the ruins. Our first stop was Complex “Q”, a restored temple complex. Here, the guide explained that the majority of temples at Tikal are likely still undiscovered, and -while new finds occur with regularity- the difficulty involved with excavating temples and restoring them means it is likely those that have not yet been unearthed will remain so in perpetuity.
5. Temple I #1
From atop the main temple at Complex “Q”, you can get a nice view across to Temple I.
6. Guatemalan Butterfly
I’m continually impressed with Central and South America’s diversity of insect life - shame I did not have a better lens with which to capture this butterfly!
Photographer’s Comment: I had to gut-check which lenses I might need for my trip to Belize and Guatemala, and -for better or worse- I left my telephoto lenses behind. Ultimately, they weren’t truly needed for the trek, but -if you are keen to photograph some animals- I’d recommend bringing one along. For the record, if at any point on this trip I had seen a jaguar, I would have been a bit crushed to not have the right piece of kit. Thankfully, this didn’t happen.
7. Complex “R”
Complex “R” remains mostly unexcavated, but does feature some stellae dating to about 790.
8. Tikal Monkey
As it is located in a dense jungle, Tikal is home to a variety of wildlife, including howler and spider monkeys.
As you walk across Tikal, you are serenaded with the sounds of rich animal life; however, the sounds of the howler monkeys are the most prevalent. While the monkey’s themselves are hard to spot, you can catch quick glimpses of them swinging from tree-to-tree.
9. Tikal Overview
From atop Temple IV, you can see all the way across Tikal, catching the tops of (from left to right) Temples I, II, and III.
Climbing up Temple IV can be a bit of a chore, but the payout is worth the challenge as the view across Tikal is spectacular. Film buffs will know this vantage from a scene transition in “Star Wars: Episode IV”, suggesting a Tikal-style world was the location of the film’s Rebel Base. Despite this scene being a throw-away cutscene in the original film, many people here seemed to know about it, and tour guides were not shy about mentioning it. I didn’t hear any tour guides mention Tikal’s brief appearance in the Bond film “Moonraker”, further hammering home the prominence of the Star Wars series in society’s cultural consciousness. Interestingly enough, “Moonraker” was filmed to cash in on the space travel hype surrounding Star Wars (as evidenced by the promise at the end of “The Spy Who Loved Me” that “James Bond will return in ‘For Your Eyes Only’” only went fulfilled after “Moonraker” was made first); I can’t help but wonder if the choice of filming location in “Moonraker” was an intentional homage or a coincidence. Anyway, this is quite a tangent I’ve gone off on….
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Now back to the travelogue!
10. Temple IV
Temple IV is believed to be the tallest edifice built the by the Mayans.
While Temple IV offers you the best view across Tikal, there is -unfortunately- no great place to get a photograph of this spectacular engineering marvel.
11. Plaza of the Seven Temples
The Plaza of the Seven Temples takes its name, as you might have guessed, from a line of seven temples which surrounded a central courtyard.
After descending Temple IV, we walked passed Temple III and the Mundo Peridido complex to arrive at the Plaza of the Seven Temples, built between 600 and 900 AD.
Photographer’s Comment: On the whole, Tikal is a difficult place to get whole-temple photographs, as mentioned previously with Temple IV. Temple III and Mundo Peridido are no exceptions to this rule, as thick canopy and challenging contrast limit what you can capture. If you are like me and prefer your photographs to be as devoid of tourists as possible, you’re at even more of a disadvantage, as small crowds appear to congregate at each temple complex.
12. Temple V
Temple V is the second largest of Tikal’s temples, and the only to make use of rounded edges.
13. Temple I #2
Temple I is also known as “The Temple of the Great Jaguar.”
After seeing Temple V, we made our way to Tikal’s Great Plaza, flanked on the east by Temple I and on the west by Temple II. Temple I -with its distinctive roof comb- is perhaps Tikal’s most famous structure.
14. Central Acropolis #1
The Great Acropolis likely housed Tikal’s ruling families.
Just south of the Great Plaza are the ruins of the Great Acropolis, an excellent example of pre-Colonial city planning in Central America.
15. Central Acropolis #2
16. Central Acropolis #3
The Central Acropolis gives you a great view of Temple I.
17. Central Acropolis #4
18. Central Acropolis #5
19. Temple I #3
After spending some time in the Central Acropolis, we passed the back of Temple I and made our way back to the central tourist area, where -after a meal- we boarded our van and made our way back to San Ignacio.
On the whole, I was very happy to have seen Tikal. While the tour was incredibly informative and well-organized, the pace was a restrictive as I would have liked some extra time to explore Mundo Perdido and a couple of other sites bit more. That being said, if you want more time to explore (or the opportunity to photograph sites without tourists in the background!), I feel an overnight in Guatemala is necessary. As the other major site I wish to visit in Guatemala (Antigua) is on the complete other side of the country, I was pleased with my overall experience having visited from Belize, and I certainly recommend this strategy if you are short of being a Mayan history die-hard.
