Tikal & Flores

Florin PaunThe Temple of the Great Jaguar or simple, Temple I. The temple is a limestone stepped pyramid structure, dated to around 732 AD. The name Temple of the Great Jaguar comes from a lintel depicting a king seated on a jaguar throne. An alternative name is the Temple of Ah Cacao, after the ruler buried in the temple.

Florin PaunThe temples near the main square (near the park headquarters) are often visited, and you may see groups of tourists. On the other hand, at the temples located more than 300 meters from the main square you are very likely to be alone.

Florin PaunTikal is the ruins of an ancient Maya city, probably called Yax Mutal, discovered in a rainforest in the Petén Basin, northern Guatemala. Tikal National Park is both an archaeological park and a nature reserve. Compared to other sites, Tikal is the best understood of the great lowland Maya cities. Historical evidence has established a long list of dynastic rulers, and the tombs of many of these rulers have been discovered. Tikal was the capital of a state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Tikal reached its peak during the Classic period, between 200 and 900 AD. During this period, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica, such as the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico. After the end of the Late Classic period, no new major monuments were built at Tikal, and there is evidence that the elite palaces were burned. These events were accompanied by a gradual decline in population, culminating in the abandonment of the site by the end of the 10th century. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area (it is believed that Fernando Cortez reached the nearby town of Flores, but left the area, not finding it interesting because there was no gold to be found), the city of Tikal had long been a pile of ruins overgrown by towering jungle trees.