Parque
Nacional Tikal is located in Guatemala, about
28 Km from El Remate and 60 Km from Flores. In this remote area,
one of the greatest civilizations of it's time established a city that
endured for centuries.
Set in the jungle canopy, the site today consists
of over 3,000 buildings, including a handful
of impressively tall temples that tower above
the forest. At its peak some 1,500 years ago,
Tikal was home to an estimated 100,000 Mayans.
As is the case with all Mayan sites, the origins
of Tikal are only barely discernible. Findings
of pottery dating from a few hundred years before
Christ give evidence that Tikal was inhabited
then. By the time of Christ, the Great Plaza
had already taken its basic form, with platforms
and stairways on the north side.
Tikal
isa place
for wondering, not only at the engineering
accomplishments of the Maya, but at the jungle
splendors of the Peten region in Guatemala. The
site of Tikal is a national park where
the native flora and fauna still flourish relatively
undisturbed. In addition to it's numerous
well-excavated temples and pyramids, Tikal presents
an excellent opportunity for animal- and bird-watching.
Along the paths, spider and howler monkeys, gray
foxes and red coatis are visible to the visitor.
Today, one cansit
atop a pyramid, gaze at the Great
Plaza and roof combs rising up from the sea
of jungle and imagine the times more than
a thousand years ago when the plaza was alive
with activity and the city was surround by
cultivated fields dotted with houses.
But one can do little more than imagine. There
is no coherent history of Tikal and there may
never be one. Bits and pieces of information
are picked up from drawings on pottery and bone,
finds of tools, similarities in artistic styles
between Tikal and other Mayan and Non-Mayan centers,
and the few glyphs that have been deciphered
up to now.
The combination of archaeological remains and
the natural environment of the Petén makes
Tikal the only place in the world which has been
declared both a Naturaland
aCultural Heritage site.
