Visiting the Mayan ruins of Tikal
Tikal is one of the most enigmatic and wonderful of the Maya sites of Central America. Anyone who has visited this wonderful place will tell you how magical it really feels. One of the biggest ruins in the Mayan World, Tikal was an important City in the Classic Period of the Mayan timeline.
The locale of the ruins in the dense Jungle of Guatemalan Peten adds to the atmosphere and it is no wonder that many people add it to the must see sights of their visit to Central America and Guatemala.
A brief history of the City of Tikal
Before we go on to explain how you can organise a trip to visit the ruins of Tikal, we will give you a brief history of the City and its influence on the Mayan World.The City of Tikal was one of the major cultural and population centres of the Maya people and its influence dominated the lowland areas around the Peten region. The City reached its peak between 200 and 850AD, which is known as the Classic period. This was when Tikal demonstrated immense power and hold over the other Mayan settlements in the area, though the City is thought to have been founded in and around the 4th Century BC.
Like Europe of the 'Dark ages', the Maya World was made up of many alliances and conflicts between the City states. Tikal being the dominant power in the Classic Period had many allies and puppet states, as well as many enemies. One of these being Caracol, who defeated Tikal in 562AD after a long war and replaced it as the new power in the Maya Lowlands. Tikal never really recovered from these defeats against so-called 'inferior' enemies and by the end of the 10th Century AD the City was abandoned.The name of the City - Tikal is thought to be a modern invention meaning place of the Resevoirs in the local Maya tongue. Inscriptions on the temples around the City have been translated recently and it now seems that the City was known as Mutal to its inhabitants.
The City was forgotten about after the abandonment of the 10th Century and lost in the Jungle of the Peten until the 19th Century when an expedition was sent in 1848. This sparked a lot of interest and many more explorers visited the site in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. In the 1970s, the Guatemalan government with help from the University of Pennsylvania started to excavate the site and due to the enormous size of the ruins, this work is still being carried out today.
Books on Tikal and the Maya from Amazon
The ancient Mayan civilization had one of the most advanced understandings of astronomy and their calendar reflected this sophistication. But the Mayan calendar is not simply keyed to the movement of planetary bodies. It functions as a metaphysical map of the evolution of consciousness and records how time flows spiritually as well as materially - providing a new science of time. The calendar is associated with nine creation cycles, which represent nine levels of consciousness or Underworlds on the Mayan cosmic pyramid. Through empirical research Calleman shows how this pyramidal structure of consciousness development can explain things as disparate as the common origin of world religions and the modern complaint that time seems to be moving faster. Time, in fact, is speeding up as we transition from the materialist Planetary Underworld of time that governs us to day to a new and higher frequency of consciousness - the Galactic Underworld - in preparation for the final Universal level of conscious enlightenment. Calleman reveals how the Mayan calendar is a spiritual device that enables a greater understanding of the nature of conscious evolution throughout human history and the concrete steps we can take to align ourselves with this cosmic evolution toward enlightenment.
The Maya metropolis of Tikal was once one of the greatest cities in the world, its skyline dominated by huge temple-pyramids. In AD 750 over 100,000 people lived there, in the heart of the Guatemalan rainforest. But why did the city flourish? What does its history reveal about Maya civilization? And why did Tikal collapse? Drawing upon over 30 years of excavation and research, some of it his own, Peter D. Harrison provides this account of the turbulent story of Tikal over 1700 years, from 800 BC to the late-9th century AD. The Ruins
Even though archaeological work has been going on for decades, only a small fraction of Tikal's many thousands of structures have been excavated. It will be many years before the whole site will be anywhere close to being fully excavated.The most prominent buildings left at the site are the six mesoamerican pyramids, which most of you would have seen in photographs of Tikal. Each of these structures, some measuring over 60 metres high, have a temple sitting at the top.
Most of the larger temples and structures were built after what is known as the Tikal Hiatus, where building work and inscriptions were stopped for a period (many believe this to be the result of a large defeat to Caracol). Though like many Maya sites, older temples are located beneath the later structures.
Alongside the six large pyramids, Tikal also has the remains of Royal Palaces, residences and stone monuments. There are thousands of structures around and it is easy to find yourself alone with some beautiful carvings.The majority of Tikal (60 sq miles) is covered by the ruins of the residential area. There is also evidence of what is thought to have been a jail, and several ball courts, including a set of 3 in the "Seven Temples Plaza" a unique feature in Mesoamerica.
Tikal can get busy during the day, when many, many daytrippers visit from various resorts in mexico and belize, as well as backpackers from Flores. This can get a bit annoying, but as the site is so big, it is easy to find your own little piece of Mayan History!
Visiting Tikal
Organising your own vacation
It is very easy nowadays for you to organise your own vacation to the region and by doing this you will be able to put together a vacation that suits you.
You can mix and match for your vacation, mixing in Mayan ruins with a beach vacation, it's really up to you!Here is an example for you....
Example of a custom vacation
Mixing Belize with a visit to Tikal
So for this example, you can find a flight to Belize through Travelocity, one of the best places to find cheap flights. This is true for Americans, Canadians and Europeans, though Antipodeans may be better off finding a local company.
Travelocity Saves You on Flights, Hotels, Car Rentals, Cruises and More
This custom vacation example will be spending two weeks in the region, with flights in and out of Belize City (who has flights to the USA, UK and Europe).
You can choose to stay in a hotel/resort or you can choose to hire out a private villa. The choice is up to you.
Online hotel reservations and discounts
This link will send you to Hotelguide, a very good place to start your search for hotels. They look throughout the web to find the best deals for you.
Ambergris Caye is a popular beach vacation destination, with lovely beaches and superb diving. It is also a good location from which to base yourself for exploration of the region. Finding sidetrips for your vacation
Through Viator you can organise trips to a variety of different places including Tikal. A trip to Tikal for the day can easily be organised, and would involve a flight from San Pedro in Ambergris Caye. This would allow a day of wandering around Tikal, before arriving back in San Pedro in time for some evening drinks on the beach.
There are many other trips on offer and it would depend on your preferences to choose what is perfect for you. This is what makes a custom vacation superior compared with a package deal, you choose what you want to do!
Other offerings from Viator include visiting the Community Baboon Sanctuary, Belize Zoo (said to be the best in Central America), local Mayan ruins such as Xunantunich and Altun Ha, diving trips to the Barrier Reef, or even wilderness treks into Belize's pristine Jungle. All at great value prices!
Related links
You may want to look at...
- Lonely planet
- A great site by those trusted guidebook people at Lonelyplanet. The forums are filled with people who can help with information concerning Belize and Tikal.
- Maya Ruins
- A good site with plenty of pictures of many Mayan ruins. Great place to get you in the mood for your vacation!
- Carbon Footprint
- Learn how to offset your Carbon Footprint! Your flight adds to your Carbon Footprint, this site tells you how you can help to offset it. It's not much, but it's a start!
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Please give me your feedback!
I would love to hear from you all! So, please tell me what you think.
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backhoeloader
Wow! Posted June 16, 2008 |
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angeldrago
today on my Naked Angel Virgin Vinyl show I talked about Tikal because I am an anthropology and archaeology honours student that studies Classic Maya iconography so i am very impressed with your squidoo and inspired to create my own on this subject. Posted March 06, 2008 |
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poddys
I was very lucky and spent a day in Tikal in 1989 when I was working in Guatemala. It's an amazing place, not just the pyramids but the fact that from the top of Temple 1 you can see nothing in any direction but jungle - and the tops of the other pyramids. Posted January 24, 2008 |
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Evelyn_Saenz
Tikal has facinated me since I first heard about it in college. This lens reminds me how much I would like to go there some day. Thank you for putting together such a nice lens. Posted December 15, 2007 |
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fefe
nicely done lens! 5* Posted September 14, 2007 |
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Enchanted_Ways
Very nice lens, great info Posted August 26, 2007 |
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Great lens! I voted 5 stars - I invite you to check out mine too, and rate it for me! Live Streaming Video Posted August 06, 2007 |
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Great lens! I voted 5 stars - I invite you to check out mine too, and rate it for me! Live Streaming Video Posted August 06, 2007 |
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allysa
This is one of the places in the world I would like to visit someday. I like everything about it! Posted July 31, 2007 |
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Lady_Gotrocks
Lovely lens! Posted July 30, 2007 |
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KimGiancaterino
Another beautiful travel lens! Posted July 26, 2007 |
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Margaret_Schaut
Another beautiful lens. 5* Posted July 25, 2007 |
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JonitasKalimpo
I love everything about maya civilization. good work travelwarrior. Posted July 24, 2007 |
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jasmineann
Wonderfully informative lens.Sounds an amazing place to visit. Thank you.5 stars! Posted July 21, 2007 |
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The_Bard
Excellent travel lens. Posted July 21, 2007 |
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flaminglacer
A squid angel has passed your way Posted July 21, 2007 |
