Tikal SUNSET, Archeological focus and Wildlife Spotting Tour (South and East)

Overview

Extensive tour, with enough time and flexibility, excellent for photographers. Guaranteed departure, we operate only with 1 guest with no extra charge. If we go over 9 people, we make 2 groups Premium tour visiting the best spots to photograph the monuments Hassle free entry fees, those are not included because price varies according to nationality and age, but available in advance, we pay those for you, then you reimburse our guide during the service. Excellent English-Spanish bilingual guide with deep knowledge of local history, flora and fauna and with service attitude to give a meaning to each monument visited. Enough food included: water refill and lunch at Jaguar Inn Restaurant (gluten-free and vegan options) We will walk approximately 6 to 8 kilometers during this tour, but not consecutively. The longest walk between two stops is approximately 20 minutes. Bring your camera! We love taking photos, we will show you the best spots.

Itinerary

1. Tikal National Park

   We start when we pick you up at your hotel, when booking, please choose the time according to the location of your hotel. In case you don't know the location of your hotel yet, just book the cheapest tour option, later you let us know your hotel location and if there is a price difference, you can pay it to our guide. The walking tour begins at Gate 2 of Tikal National Park DURATION OF EACH WAY OF TRANSFER BY LOCATION WHERE WE PICK YOU UP a. Tikal: 00h: 05m b. El Remate: 01h: 00m c. San Jose, Peten: 01h:20m d. San Benito, Santa Elena Flores or Flores Island: 01h: 30m e. San Andres and Melchor de Mencos: 02h: 00m f. San Ignacio Town, Belize: 03h: 00m g. San Ignacio Out of Town, Belize: 03h: 30m Tikal has two titles of UNESCO, it's cultural and natural heritage of humanity, that's why we'll spend more than six hours exploring different archeological monuments and to go from monument to monument, we'll use nature trails with a high chance of spotting some species of wildlife.

   · 5 min

2. It’s name is Palace of Grooves, because it has a unique architecture design on it’s walls with well preserved grooves. This was the residential palace of Yikin Chaan K'awiil, the 27th successor of the dynasty of Tikal and the richest ruler Tikal had, all the rulers before him used to live at Central Acropolis, a large complex of palaces where each generation added a some buildings, but this ruler was so rich with a lot of people to build, that he decided to build the Palace of Grooves as a separate complex. Yikin Chaan K'awiil also built Temple IV and Temple VI, this palace was built around 750 a.D. with two floors and five courtyards.

   · 15 min· Admission not included

3. Central Acropolis

   We'll explore this complex with you, it was built as the residential area of the royal family of Tikal, it has 6 courtyards, 3 of them have been restored, this complex was also probably the place to host to all the royal visitors that came to Tikal from other mesoamerican cities for diplomatic reasons. It has a palace with 5 floors and some of the lintels on the doors of this palace are still the original wooden lintels placed by the people who built it about 14 centuries ago and the wood is still in good shape.

   · 30 min· Admission not included

4. Tempel I

   We will walk around the most iconic monument of Tikal taking pictures of it from different angles. The official name of this temple is Temple of the Great Jaguar because when the temple was discovered, it's original wooden lintel had a Great Jaguar carved on it, now, that beautiful carving in wood is in a famous museum. Back in 1960's when archeologist excavated this temple, they found underneath this temple, the greatest treasure ever found in Tikal, it was the burial of Hasaw Chaan K'awil, the most famous king of the dynasty of Tikal, the jewelry over the skeleton of the king included 16.5 pounds of jade jewels.

   · 20 min· Admission not included

5. Großer Platz

   The Great Plaza is the place in Tikal with the largest amount of energy, it's also the most restaured complex of this mayan site, it has multiple stelae, some of them with carving showing the portrait of some kings of the city. This complex was excavated back in 1960's by the Museum of University of Pensinvania.

   · 30 min· Admission not included

6. North Acropolis

   This complex was used as a Royal Cemetery for the kings and queens of Tikal, it's compared with an onion, because of the multiple layers of interesting architecture it revealed, in some of these layers we can see the masks of the rain god and the sun god. The guide communicates efficiently with all guests. During the tour, the guide accompanies you to climb the monuments to explain the most important details while you are above the monuments. We take you to the best spots to take pictures at the right times, this is ideal for photographers and we'll see many Mayan structures.

   · 30 min· Admission not included

7. We'll climb this temple with you and enjoy the best view of the Great Plaza, looking at the masks carved on top of this temple. The view from this temple is a great chance to take a picture of Temple I, North Acropolis and the Great Plaza.

   · 30 min· Admission not included

8. Temple V

   We'll visit this beautiful temple, it has round corners, it's the only temple facing North, it was built around 650 a.C. and it was restored in 2002. Temple V is the second tallest of Tikal, it's architecture is very different than the other temples of the city, this is the first temple discovered in Tikal back in 1848 because the back of it's roof comb as it's totally vertical, it was never covered by trees and it was visible from far away south, the direction of Flores where the discoverers of Tikal came from.

   · 30 min· Admission not included

9. Plaza Of The Seven Temples

   This Plaza has Seven temples in line, three ball courts and three palaces, which makes the number thirteen, a sacred number for the mayan culture. It looks like a place for sports and for the aristocracy of Tikal to have fun. It has the only triple ball court found so far in Mesoamerica.

   · 30 min· Admission not included

10. Lost World

    We will visit this area at the end to wait for sunset from the top of the Great Pyramid. The sounds of the wildlife are interesting. The Lost World is the astronomical observatory of Tikal, it has the Great Pyramid as the point to watch the stars, the planets and the sun and it has three buildings on the east side to mark the seasons of the year. The lower plaza is part of The Lost World, this plaza has a podium in the center with the architecture of Teotihuacan, a clear evidence of the cultural interaction between these two ancient cities.

    · 30 min· Admission not included

11. Tikal National Park

    The walking tour ends at Gate 2 of Tikal National Park around 19:30 by June when we have the longest day or around 18:30 by December when we have the longest night. The activity ends when we drop you off at the location we picked you up, or it can be to a different location, but for this, you need to let us know in advance.

    · 5 min

Pickup

Pickup included.

When booking, please make sure you pick the right price option according to the desired pickup location. We pick up from the door of any hotel or Airbnb in Flores, Tikal, El Remate, Santa Elena, San Benito, San Andres, Melchor de Mencos, San Jose Peten and San Ignacio Belize. Guests staying in San Miguel come by boat to Raices Restaurant in Flores Island for pickup.

How to use your ticket

Your guide or driver will come to the door of your hotel to pick you up, then you show him your digital or printed ticket.

What to know before you go

• Specialized infant seats are available
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Wheelchair accessible
• Seat belts available
• In case you don't know yet the location of your hotel, just book the cheapest tour option, later you let us know your hotel location and if there is price difference, you can pay it to our guide.
• If you are the only adult in your group and you pick a small group option and at least one more adult reserves for that same schedule, we’ll include the cost of the entry fees for you, which reduces the price for USD34.
• Bring the best walking shoes
• Bring a raincoat just in case
• Bring the best clothes for hot weather
• Bring a flashlight (or you can use your phone's flashlight)
• Bring a canteen to refill water (in Tikal the entry of disposables is not allowed)
• If you have a Guatemalan local ID (DPI) send us a picture of it, in this event your entry fees will be only USD7

Travelers

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

• From 1 days before : 100% refunded
• From 0 days before : 0% refunded

Reviews

Product code: 207030P3

Activity offered by Gem Trips via Viator.