As we passed through the department of Izabal in the south-eastern Guatemala, we decided to visit the lesser known Maya archaeological site of Quiriguá of the Classic Period. We’d heard about this site whilst we were visiting Copán in Honduras.

Quiriguá was once a dependant of Copán, but following a battle during which the powerful king of Copán “18 Rabbit” was captured and sacrificed, it became an independent entity under the leadership of Cauac Sky.

Although Quiriguá is much smaller than Copán, it is nestled in a delicious humid jungle setting and in many ways it actually trumps the latter in terms of the quality and size of its stone sculptures.

As you enter the site, there is a large plaza with many stone stelae; which are tall statues depicting the rulers of Quiriguá. Firstly you will be struck by the size and height of these statues (a result of the local sandstone used), which are taller and larger by far than those of Copán. Indeed one of these is the tallest free-standing stone sculpture ever found in the New World. Famous 20^th century visitor Aldous Huxley commented that the stelae commemorated “man’s triumph over time and matter and the triumph of time and matter over man”.

Some of the stelae are wonderfully preserved and on both sides depict the magnificence of the rulers, dressed in their finery and sporting beards (unusual) and monumental feather headdresses. We even saw one ruler clasping what looked like decapitated trophy heads.

On the thinner sides it is also possible to see hieroglyphic text and other carved depictions of the religious/spiritual world.

As well as the stelae there are several commemorative zoomorphic monuments, depicting animals mixed with rulers or gods from the Maya pantheon. On one of these the face of the ruler Cauac Sky can be seen emerging from a jaguar’s (or serpent or crocodile, depending on your interpretation!) mouth.

Quiriguá also has a small acropolis and various other buildings which are certainly not as impressive as other sites, but pleasant to visit. Whilst we were there we mixed with families, a troop of soldiers and some well dressed modern Maya.

Whilst not on our ‘must-do’ list, our couple of hours at Quiriguá were really very interesting, especially considering the importance that this smaller entity had over the fate of its mighty, and more famous neighbour, Copán. In terms of stone sculptures and stelae, in our opinion, it has yet to be beaten, and we’ve trawled around a lot of sites in our time! So, as travellers, sometimes it’s the unexpected visits that can yield the most pleasure and surprises.