General Information
1993
2004
Perspective from 1993 Trip
Tikal is the most impressive ruins I have seen second only to Machu Picchu. One thing that separates Tikal from Machu Picchu is the size of the crowds. Because there were so few visitors at Tikal, it gave the place a more intimate and mysterious atmosphere.
Tikal was a Mayan metropolis with about 100,000 inhabitants about 1250 years ago. According to my guide, some parts of the city date back to before Christ. He even pointed out wood in a door frame that was older than Christ.
The half day that I had in the park was not enough time to fully explore the ruins and view the wildlife, but I am grateful for the small amount of time that I spent there.
Perspective from 2004 Trip
My how things change. The first noticeable difference between the place I saw a decade ago vs. now, is there is a front entrance gate, gift shops, a restaurant, and two museums. There is a crowd similar to the size of Disney World. The solitude is gone, and some of the temples are now off limits to tourists due to deterioration and accidents (photographers falling off the temples). The restaurant was excellent and inexpensive and the guide we had from the park was excellent as well. The most unfortunate part is our hotel arranged it so we would have to be with a guide the whole day and would not be able to wander around on our own. We were told we would have free time but sometimes the story changes.
Getting There
Perspective from 1993 Trip
It seems as though if you can get to Flores via air, then you can get a tour bus to Tikal. I flew from Cancun (Mexico) where a travel agent at the hotel made my reservations for me. I have seen offers for an excursion from Antigua, Guatemala, too. The provide air to Flores and then the same deal with the tour bus. If it is possible, try to get a hotel outside of Tikal so you can have an extra day to explore on your own.
Perspective from 2004 Trip
We used our hotel services to take a bus to the Guatemalan border from Belize. At the border, we crossed on foot to the other side. From there we had a hired car with a Guatemalan driver pick us up and bring us to the park. This made it incredibly easy. The hotel helped us with the paperwork the night before so that when we got to the border the crossing was easy. (Use the bathroom on the Belize side before you cross).
The Main Plaza
1993
2004
Perspective from 1993 Trip
Part of the tour covered the main section of the ruins where a lot of the structures have been uncovered and some of the relics are on display under grass hut roofs. You could spend several hours here just climbing up the different temples and exploring.
Perspective from 2004 Trip
This seems to be the last stop on the tour for most groups. We were given maybe 20 minutes to explore but took over an hour. It looked like the family we were with was doing the same so we took advantage of the freedom. Outside the plaza, if you climb over one of the side sections, there is a whole area in the back that hardly anyone was wandering around. That is a good place to go for a bit of solitude.
Hiking to the Top of the Rain Forest (Temple IV)
1993
2004
Perspective from 1993 Trip
I knew when I saw a ladder at the base of the trail that this was going to be a unique experience. This hike is for the physically fit. As a matter of fact, I think the word hike is inaccurate. This adventure is best described as a climb.
From the base of the trail, you can not see the end through the thick tree covering above. As you can see in the picture, you can not even see the trail past the ladder. This trail requires several sections of ladders and some scrabbling up tree roots and tree branches to continue gaining altitude. Watch out for snakes before you grab for a branch!
Once you rise above the tree tops, you find yourself standing near the top of a temple. There is a room you can enter, you may chose to continue your climb to the top, or you may look around in amazement at the other temple tops peeking out of the rain forest.
The view at the top made me want to climb up each and every temple that I saw out there. I hope some day I can go back and do that! It was not until many years later when I saw Star Wars for a second time that I realized why the scene looked so familiar! If you have time for only one hike, then I recommend this one. Just remember that once you climb up the trail, you have to climb back down.
Perspective from 2004 Trip
The line formed at the bottom of the stairs. There is one set of stairs to go up and one set of stairs to come down. The stairs provide for easy access to the base of the top of the temple where many other tourists enjoy the view. The inside of the temple is now barred off and the inside is destroyed with graffiti where people write their names on the wall. Both the stairs and the graffiti were new since 1993.
The View
The view from the temple has not changed at all from what I could tell. The forest remains uninterrupted by developments and power lines and several temples peer up over the green canopy. Absolutely breathtaking.
Petroglyphs
Perspective from 1993 Trip
I took this photograph way before I even knew what petroglyph was. Unfortunately, the photo is of very poor quality. I hope to return some day and to explore more of the ruins and take better photographs.
Perspective from 2004 Trip
We did not get to go into any temples or rooms. We did not get to see any petroglyphs. There was little time to do photography.
More to Uncover
Perspective from 2004 Trip
When we said our good byes to the guide, he told us that if we come back in a few years, there would be more to see. The archaeological dig and discovery continues to this day.
At the time of my visit, they were not sure why the city ceased to exist and fall to ruin. There were many mounds of vines and plants that still covered structures. I can not wait to return to see what else has been discovered.
Perspective from 2004 Trip
On the return visit we saw some holes in the ground that we could fit into. It used to be a place to store food and a flat stone with a concave section in the middle remains where they probably ground corn. That was pretty cool, but you need to look out for snakes as you can't get out of the system of holes quickly.
Our guide also showed us how good they were with astronomy. he used rocks to show where the temples were relative to each other and how the sunrise during the solstices lined up different temples in the shadows. He had a lot of interesting lessons to tell.
The place had changed a lot between visits. I think part of what I loved - the solitude and the climb up temple IV were a thing of the past. The place is definitely worth a visit, but it ended up not meeting our expectations we had set - mostly due to the lack of free time which was limited by an organized tour. What we thought was to be the best part of the trip was the least memorable.
Sometimes the memories are best kept as memories.