Tikal

Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in thel region of the Petén Basin in northern Guatemala set in what is referred to as the “Maya Biosphere” an area of 21,602 square kilometres- the largest area of tropical forest remaining in central America. Conspicuous trees at the Tikal park include gigantic kapok – or Ceiba the sacred tree of the Maya; Tropical Cedar and Honduras Mahogany. Agouti , white-nosed coatis, gray foxes, Geoffroy's spider monkeys, howler monkeys, harpy eagles, falcons, ocellated turkeys, guans, toucans, green parrots and leafcutter ants are to be seen regularly but we only saw a few of these as, by local standards this was a cold day, but plenty warm enough for us and so much of the fauna was staying indoors.
Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya. Though monumental architecture at the site dates back as far as the 4th century BCE, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 to 900 CE. The city has been completely mapped and covers an area greater than 16 square kilometres that includes about 3000 structures with population estimates varying from 10,000 to as high as 90,000 inhabitants, with the most likely figure being at the upper end of this range. During its time, the city dominated much of the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily, while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica such as the great metropolis of Teotihuacan in the distant Valley of Mexico, where our journey of looking at ancient civilisations began 18 days ago.
Tikal had no water other than what was collected from rainwater and stored in ten reservoirs. The absence of springs, rivers, and lakes in the immediate vicinity highlights a prodigious feat: clearing vast areas of forest and building a major city with only supplies of stored seasonal rainfall. Tikal prospered with intensive agricultural techniques, which were far more advanced than the slash and burn methods originally theorised by archaeologists. The reliance on seasonal rainfall left Tikal vulnerable to prolonged drought and this, coupled with deforestation, is thought by some to have played a role in the collapse of the Maya civilisation.
The architecture of the ancient city is built from limestone and includes the remains of temples that tower over 70 metres high, large royal palaces, in addition to a number of smaller pyramids, palaces, residences, administrative buildings, platforms, ballcourts and inscribed stone monuments.




We climbed to the top of one of the temples and saw some of the other ‘skyscrapers’ rising magnificently above the jungle treetops.
We feel very privileged to have seen this archaeological site and to have been able to walk amongst its ruins in the lush tropical jungle.