Tikal, Mayan archaeology ruins in El Peten, Guatemala, Central America

Tikal can be reached from Belize or Guatemala City by road or air. The airport for Tikal is in Santa Elena, a suburb of Flores , so the airport is often called the “ Flores airport ".

Hotels for Tikal are:

• Within the Tikal National Park itself
• Half-hour away in El Remate, Peten, on the shores of Lake Peten Itza
• An hour away on the island of Flores or adjacent suburb of Santa Elena

Tikal offers the visitor an opportunity to see:

• Mayan pyramids and temples
• Mayan palaces
• Mayan ballcourts
• Mayan stelae and altars
• Mayan acropolises and plaza

Great Jaguar and Ballcourt, Picture by Nicholas Hellmuth

Temple V, roofcomb.

This web site, www.maya-archaeology.org, is one of the few sites on Tikal by an archaeologist who excavated at Tikal and discovered many of the Mayan artifacts in the site museum. After working at Tikal , Nicholas Hellmuth went on to map the complete ancient Maya city of Yaxha. He lobbied five years with the Guatemalan government to have this area declared a national park: the Lake Yaxha-Lake Sacnab National Park is the result of his five years, 1970-1974. Since then Guatemalan archaeologists have increased this park to include Nakum and Naranjo.

Central Acropolis, El Peten (Picture by Nicholas Hellmuth)

Stelae Group Q, Tikal Guatemala.

First posted January 17, 2007.