Guatemala: Tikal

My final stop in Guatemala was the town of Flores, a base from which to visit the famous Tikal ruins. What seemed on a map to be an easy, direct road to get to Flores from Rio Dulce turned into a nightmare as I joined dozens upon dozens of other Guatemalans on a local Fuente del North bus heading up to Flores. I spent 5 torturous hours standing the whole way, with all sorts of dodgy people pressed up against me, possibly about to sneak a hand into my bag. In reality they turned out to be quite friendly men and too interested in haranguing a beautiful local girl nearby to take too much notice of me!

Having arrived in Flores, I booked onto a tour group going to visit Tikal the next day, departing at 4.30 am in order to be at the park when it opens. The shuttle journey to the national park was a treat inself as we drove towards the sunrise which turned the entire sky various shades of orange and pink. Guatemala wins hands down when it comes to sunrises and sunsets!

Tikal is Guatemala's number one tourist attraction, with towering Mayan ruins hidden in thick jungle. While some of the other ruins in Central America may be equally as grand, Tikal has a certain mystique that is enhanced by the warbling of toucans and parrots, the cry of howler monkeys and the tarantulas ambling down jungle pathways. The Maya settled in Tikal in 700BC, and thrived until around AD700, at which time its population numbered over 100 000 over 30 sq km (thanks Lonely Planet). After this peak, the Mayan civilisation here mysteriously collapsed and dispersed. There are several theories as to reasons for the demise of Tikal as a Mayan stronghold, but the widely accepted theory is that drought resulted in a lack of water and other resources that inevitably led to infighting and ultimately widespread dispersion to greener pastures.

The ruins were certainly impressive although the highlight was definitely the climb to the top of Temple 4, at a height of 22 stories, to view the other temples in the complex jutting through the jungle canopy. For many months a similar image of Tikal had been my desktop background at work, so it felt surreal to finally be seeing that view with my own eyes.