The heart of the Maya World, Guatemala boasts a wealth of archaeological sites, including the incomparably majestic ruins of Tikal, a required stop for every tourist visiting the country. Guatemala's northern department of El Petén is full of Classic Maya ruins, most of which still lie in the grasp of rainforest, awaiting excavation. Everywhere you go in Guatemala, you will find traces of Maya civilization, in fascinating ruins and in museums full of priceless archaeological treasures. In the highlands you'll discover living Maya villages whose inhabitants carry on traditions that are thousands of years old.

Tikal
Featuring the tallest buildings in the Maya World (and perhaps in all of pre-Columbian America), Tikal is a magical place of pyramids, temples, observatories, palaces and ball courts set in 220 square miles of protected rainforest. A short, half-hour flight from Guatemala City, it is visited by tens of thousands of visitors every year, who come to marvel at the achievements of the enigmatic Maya and to see the rainforest species that live around the ruins.

The hill where Tikal stands was first settled by humans in about 600 BC. During approximately 1500 years of continuous occupation, the civilization that developed here attained remarkable achievements in written language, art, architecture, mathematics, agriculture, astronomy and government. Inscriptions left on rock monuments, ceramics and wooden lintels tell us a part of Tikal's complex history, which came to an end at about 900 AD, for reasons that are still not known. A small, but excellent, book by William Coe explains the history and architecture of Tikal, and contains a detailed map. The book is available at the visitor's center and is highly recommended as a companion for your tour of the ruins.

About 3,000 structures have been mapped in Tikal's enormous central area and visitors may spend hours, or days, exploring the buildings that have been excavated and restored. The heart of Tikal is the Great Plaza, bounded to one side by the imposing Temple 1, or Temple of the Giant Jaguar. Built in about 700 AD, Temple 1 towers 145 feet above the plaza and consists of nine, steeply sloping terraces. It faces Temple 2, or the Temple of the Masks, which is 125 feet tall. In the plaza between these temples stand a number of stelae and altars bearing dates ranging from 386 to 869 AD.