I
T’SJUSTAFTERDAWN,
and I’m in the back seat of
a car that’s puttering along the east shore of Lago
Petén Itzá,amassive lake inPetén,a tropical state in
thenortheasterncornerofGuatemala,about30miles
from theMexicanborder.I’mmunchingonchile-lime
peanutsasmyguide,EricGarcía,givesme the rundownon
Tikal National Park, the famed archaeological site that’s
also apart of theMayaBiosphereReserve.
“This is one of nine sites in theworld that UNESCO
made anatural
and
cultural preserve,”he says of thepark.
“NASA came here five years ago and took satellite pic-
tures, and they discovered 2,000 archaeological sites in
Petén alone.”
García has reason to be proud.He comes from a small
nearby village called Caoba (the Spanish name for the
mahogany tree).LikemanyGuatemalans,he is ofMayan
descent (his grandfather doesn’t speak Spanish), and he
occasionally supplements his narrative by pulling a small
Mayan flute fromhisbagandplayinga fewnotes.
“Tikal is the center of theMayanworld, likeMecca or
theVatican,”he says.“Mayanswould come toTikal from
smaller villages to celebrate ceremonies.”
Just insidetheparkgate,Garcíastopsandpointstothetop
of aceiba tree,whereblack-brownbirdswithbright yellow
tails are flittingandbickeringaroundabunchof teardrop-
shapednests.“They’re calledMontezumaoropendola,”he
says,“for thegold tails and theway theirnestshang.”
Afterahalf-hourdrivedowna tree-lined road,webegin
ourhike through the jungle,the thunderouscallsofhowler
monkeys roaring overhead.We pause towatch a female
spidermonkeyandherbaby scamperacrossabough,then
make our way towardEl Templo del Gran Jaguar, also
knownasTempleI.Aswenear the temple,weheara frenzy
of scratching—it’s an anteater, halfway up a tree, tearing
away the bark to get at a nest of termites. “That’s a rare
sight to see,”García tellsme.
Weskirt theedgesof thestepped,154-footpyramidand
emerge into theGreat Plaza, a broad clearingwith stone
ruins—dating backmore than a thousand years—rising
on all four sides.Directly across fromTemple I standsEl
Templode lasMáscaras,orTempleII,whichIclimb,eager
to see the carvednamesakemasks at the top.The summit
also affords stunning views of the surrounding ruins: the
Central Acropolis, a crumbledpalace complexwhere the
city’s elite lived, and theNorthAcropolis, a collection of
burial chambers,thewallsofwhichbearmore stonemasks
representingMayangods.
Down a trail, surrounded by dense vegetation, are
Temples III and IV—the latter the tallest in the park,
at 213 feet. “We have a big conflict between ecologists
and archaeologists,”García explains aswemake ourway
through thebrush.“Ecologists say,‘Don’t touchanything,’
andarchaeologists say, ‘Wewant todiscovermore.’Of the
4,000buildings thathavebeen foundhere,only15percent
have been restored.”
I climb to the top of Temple IV and look out across
miles of jungle canopy. George Lucas showed the
MillenniumFalconcruisingover this location in
StarWars
,
and theview is so spectacular that I can (mostly)quellmy
fear of the vertiginous height. I can also understandwhy
some people think aliens built these temples; there’s an
otherworldly vibeuphere.
Aswehikeback through the jungle, the skies openup
ina torrentialdownpour.By the timeweget toElMesón,
a restaurant near the park entrance, I’m drenched.We
take a seat at a picnic table beneath a thatch roof,where
we receive a delicious and hearty
homestyle lunch of spicy grilled
chicken and fluffy, buttery rice,
with adessert of cinnamon-laced
stewedbanana.
Fortunately, I came prepared
for the precipitation—it’s called
a “rainforest” for a reason—and
“GUATEMALA ISNOTSOBIG,BUTWEHAVEA
VARIETYOFATTRACTIONS.INTHEHIGHLANDS
YOUCANSEEPEOPLETRYINGTOPRESERVETHE
MAYANTRADITIONS.WEHAVEANTIGUA,WITH
ANENVIRONMENTTHAT ISREALLYAMAZING.
AND INTIKAL,THERE ISANICECOMBINATION
OFNATUREANDARCHAEOLOGY.”
ERICGARCÍA
Guide,Tikal
NationalPark
(in frontofTempleII)
THREE
PERFECT
DAYS
DAYONE
Inwhich Justin conquers his fear of heights by climbing
ancientMayan temples andziplining through the jungle
TikalNationalPark’s
Temple I, seenacross
theGreatPlaza from
the topofTemple II
21 NUMBEROFMAYANDIALECTS SPOKEN INGUATEMALA
