Tikal and Yaxha, Guatemala

Things to know about Tikal:

• It’s an ancient Mayan city, a center of culture and trade at the height of its power around 200-900 AD
• One of its most famous rulers was known as Ah Cacao (aka Lord Chocolate) – and just on the basis of that name, he may be my favorite historical figure ever (his actual name was Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I)
• You may recognize its temples from the original Star Wars, where they featured on the planet Yavin
• Tikal was abandoned rather suddenly in the 10th century, likely due to a combination of overpopulation and drought that led to economic collapse
• The many pyramid temples, abandoned, ended up covered with foliage until they resembled steep hills, with no hint of what was underneath; even today there remain dozens of un-excavated pyramids (mostly small)

Our day at Tikal began at 4am – and believe me when I say there are very, very few things that will get me out of bed that early! The lure here was watching the sunrise from the top of a pyramid while the jungle awakened around us, followed by a tour of the site before the crowds and the heat really picked up. So off we went for a 90 minute drive to the site, followed by a 40 minute or so walk from the parking lot. The pre-dawn darkness was punctuated by the otherworldly rumbling roars of howler monkeys, which could easily be mistaken for hungry dinosaurs or perhaps the sound effects of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland.

Most people watch the sunrise from the top of Temple IV, but our guides led us to a less-known temple with a large wooden platform at its top. No crowds, lots of room to spread out, a view of the three main pyramids (including Temple IV!).

Afterwards, we explored the rest of Tikal, which really is enormous (no surprise given it may have held 1 million people at its height).  Our wonderful guide, Noel, explained everything and pointed out things that we definitely would have missed – for example, we learned the Mayan system of numerals.  Here he’s showing us a relief of Lord Chocolate himself:

The most famous part of Tikal is the square bordered by Temples I and II (both built by Lord Chocolate). D took advantage of some shade for a catnap!

The next day, we visited a different Mayan city, Yaxha, built overlooking a large lake.  It was much smaller than Tikal at only perhaps 50,000 people, but closely connected to its trading neighbor thanks to being on the main trading route. Plus, Lord Chocolate married a princess from Yaxha.

There’s a lot of online discussion about Tikal vs Yaxha, and I’d suggest Tikal if you’re only going to see one. But it’s not too logistically difficult to go to both, and they provide nicely complementary experiences.

Tikal is so impressive and gives you a sense of a great civilization, not only because of the large temples but also palaces and other structures on a huge site.  Yaxha is smaller and still feels “undiscovered”, so you can engage up close with the pyramids, climbing the stone steps themselves just like a Mayan ruler or priest (vs wooden scaffolded stairs at Tikal).

Ancient Mayans must have had very small feet and no vertigo or fear of heights, because the steps are so steep that it’s rather dizzying!  And of course there are no handrails!

One of the seasons of Survivor was filmed at Yaxha, and my estimation of the show rose considerably when Noel explained that the producers not only built a school and donated quite a few water cisterns and other resources, but also helped a woman entrepreneur start a catering business by hiring her to feed the crew.

She and her team hosted us for lunch on the short of Lake Yaxha, serving delicious local dishes including homemade tortillas and empanadas fried to order al fresco!

Of course we also had local Gallo beers.

I wasn’t sure what to expect in Guatemala, so I was delighted by how much I loved my time there.  Mayan history and archaeology captured my interest (especially thanks to Noel), and of course there were the captivating birds and monkeys atop every other tree.

Guatemala is trying hard to build its tourism industry, and there’s so much raw material there to work with.  If you have the chance to go, please do!