Getting from Antigua to Tikal and Flores via the “delightful” holiday destination (for Guatemalans only it seems) that is Rio Dulce wasn’t easy as the roads are not particularly well-kept and there is always the sneaky, unannounced speed-bump to look out for that may outright destroy your car. Nonetheless, we managed to make it in one piece (most importantly the rented car was more or less in one piece too!)

Flores

Flores, in the El Petén department of Guatemala, is a small town which protrudes onto Lake Peten Itza via a short causeway. In pre-Colombian times it was covered with Maya temples and must have been a very sacred place. It was also the last independent state to fall to Cortes’ conquistadors. Sadly none of its Maya infrastructure remains but the island is still incredibly pretty, covered in colourful houses and winding streets, it’s epicentre peaking with a colonial cathedral with double bell towers.

Most people stay in Flores due to its proximity to the incredible ruins of Tikal (amongst others), however it’s worth stopping for a few days to appreciate this tiny town’s particular charm. Santa Marta on the mainland (just over the bridge) is more of a practical and chaotic place, so most tourists end up on Flores.  It is touristy, but we didn’t find it to be too in-your-face annoying. On the contrary it was rather laid back, probably due to the punishing daytime temperatures.

We stayed with a delightful local family who helped us organising our forward moves, gave us invaluable suggestions on what to do and avoid in the area, and were generally incredibly friendly and made us feel at home at all times. They have a room on AIRBNB.

In terms of activities, you can easily spend half a day just strolling around the island or picking your way through its little streets, which are littered with souvenir shops and various eateries. The sunset from the Western edge of the island is gorgeous, and this is where most of the restaurants, bars and hotels are to be found. We particularly enjoyed the view from the top floor of the Sky Bar. It can however be a little noisy on this side, so it is best to keep this in mind when choosing accommodation.

You can rent a lancha (small boat) for a trip out on to the lake, but we decided instead to take the public boat from the north side which links Flores to San Miguel, the small town on the mainland to the north. From here we walked a nature trail above the village to the top of the hill where there is a tree house from which you can enjoy excellent views of the Flores ‘island’.

Rather than go back the same way, we followed the path round to a beach area and had a swim in the lake before paying one of the waiting lancheros to take us back to Flores. The water had a slight whiff to it and the bottom of the lake was squishy mud, but it was a welcome respite from the oppressive heat of El Petén!

There is also nothing to stop you from swimming from Flores town, and there are several places where it is safe to jump in and cool off.

All in all we strongly recommend anyone wanting to visit Tikal to spend a day of two in Flores to explore the lake, the picturesque landscapes, and experience the laid back way of life.

Tikal

The star of the El Petén region is the Maya ruined city of Tikal, just under an hour by car from Flores. Despite its close proximity to civilization, visiting the ruins in the deep jungle certainly feels like you are worlds away. As a result of this jungle setting, visiting Tikal is as much a wildlife spotting excursion as an archaeological jaunt. We saw members of the toucan family called aracari, green parrots, a tarantula, spider monkeys, howler monkeys, turkeys, coatis and agoutis.

Tikal was a mega-city of it’s time and often controlled much of the economic, military and political landscape. A great deal has been learnt about the city from study of the hieroglyphs and tombs. It also had strong ties to Teotihuacan far away in the Valley of Mexico and there is strong evidence that Teotihuacan actually defeated the ruler of Tikal and installed itself as ruler instead.

Tikal’s temples are unlike any other we have seen, although some may remember that they found fame as the scene for the rebel base in the first Star Wars film of 1977! The temples have flat backs and ascend at the front very steeply, culminating in stone enclosures at the top rather than just space for thatched huts. You can still climb a good proportion of the temples, but some have been closed off due to past accidents. Also it is not possible to climb up the front of the two most interesting temples but scaffolding has been erected at the rear so that you can get up there without damaging the stonework.

We took a sunset tour from Flores which included transportation and a guide. The group was small and we were also allowed time on our own to explore in given areas. Tikal is a vast site and for once we were glad that there was someone guiding us so we didn’t end up walking for hours in the sweaty heat trying to find the best bits! The main areas are as follows:

The great plaza is where 2 large and similar style temples face each other (imaginatively named Temple I and Temple II). It is one of these that you can climb via scaffolding at the back for a view of the other and the various other buildings around (a large palace compound and an acropolis). The tops of these two temples are the ones that you see later when you climb Temple IV for a view over the canopy. On one side of the great plaza you can also find a giant sunken mask of a Maya face.

Walking along some of the famous causeway roads, you can find Mundo Escondido, which is another temple area, of interest because the architecture shows the influence of Teotihuacan.

The piece de la resistance is certainly the view from Temple IV, a pyramid structure reached again by following the ancient causeways. It’s a long climb up the scaffolding as this is the tallest building of Tikal at 70m tall. From here you can just sit down and enjoy the wonderful scene of pristine jungle seen from above the canopy and listen to the howler monkeys booming at each other from the branches. Peeking above the canopy are tops of the first 3 pyramids in the site and it is here that the Star Wars shot was filmed. It’s certainly easy to start having day dreams of being an explorer discovering forgotten worlds.

We were there for the sunset but the day was too cloudy. The mist started to roll in but we still enjoyed the view as it looked very mysterious. The pyramid actually faces east but the security guard will allow you to climb round past the danger signs to the north facing side to peek west. We suspect that dawn on a good day would be the better option, but you would need to stay in one of the hotels in the park or get up at 02.30 for a tour from Flores!

So, Flores and Tikal come hand in hand. The town is a great base with things to do that are independent of and compliment a day at the ruins. It would be a shame just to barge through intent on seeing the ruins and miss the chance to soak up some culture and local life.

Of course though, Tikal is the star of the show as the temples are so unique and it is such a vast site still shrouded in the dense jungle. It is certainly an evocative and awe-inspiring view from the top of that last pyramid, and it has the power to transport you back in time and, if only for a few minutes, make you feel the glory and the might of this ancient civilization.