Guatemala's El Petén: Tikal, El Mirador & the Maya Biosphere
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Guatemala's El Petén - Shelagh McNally
Guatemala's El Petén:Tikal, El Mirador & the Maya Biosphere
Shelagh McNally
HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC,
www.hunterpublishing.com
Ulysses Travel Publications
4176 Saint-Denis, Montréal, Québec
Canada H2W 2M5
tel.514-843-9882, ext. 2232; fax 514-843-9448
Windsor Books
The Boundary, Wheatley Road, Garsington
Oxford, OX44 9EJEngland
tel.01865-361122; Fax 01865-361133
© Hunter Publishing, Inc.
This and other Hunter travel guides are also available as
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, liability for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.
Thanks
It's always an adventure visiting Guatemala and there were quite a few people who helped me along the way. I can't name you all, but there are few that cannot be missed.
Elizabeth Maher and Tom Dunn kept my home fires burning while I went off exploring. My daughter, Shannon Tosic-McNally, provided some important translating while my mother, Lynne Colvey (an intrepid traveler even in her 70s) reminded me to keep my sense of humor and relax. Thanks to all of you for helping me keep it together.
I'm grateful to the wonderful people of Guatemala for their continued kindness and generosity in sharing their country. They inspire me.
This book wouldn't have been as well put together without the tireless patience and dedication of my editor Kim André. Always a pleasure working with you, Kim.
Dedication
To Guadalupe. Where would I be without your advice?
About the Author
Shelagh McNally is a Canadian writer who has been visiting Latin America since the mid 1970s. She lived in Mexico from 1997-2002, where she began exploring Guatemala while working as a writer for Mundo Maya magazine and other travel publications. She's visited over 35 Maya ruins and still misses the view from atop the pyramids. Her primary residence these days is Montreal, Canada, where she works as an environmental journalist and travel writer. Her Spanish is still terrible.
Introduction
History
Mundo Maya
Colonial Times
Independence
Laying the Foundation for War
The Scorched Earth
Hope for Peace
Geography & Land
Borders
Regions
Central Highlands
Los Altos
Northern Highlands
El Petén
Izabal
Eastern Plains
Pacific Coast
Flora & Fauna
Plants
Forests
Crops
Wildlife
Insects
Birds
Government & Economy
Politics
Economy
The People
Cultural Groups & Religion
Language
Food
Drinks
Travel Information
When To Go
Climate
Seasonal Concerns
Holidays & Festivals
January
February
March
May
June
July
August
September
November
Money
Currency
Credit Cards & ATMs
Tipping & Taxes
Customs & Immigration
Documents
Getting Here
Overland
By Air
Getting Around
By Air
By Bus
Hitchhiking
By Car
By Taxi
Staying in Touch
Telephones
Cell Phones
Snail Mail
Accommodations
Considerations
Tips for Budget Travelers
Hotel Rates
Personal Safety
Leave it at Home
Feminism - A New Concept
Travel Warnings
Staying Healthy
Hospitals in Guatemala City
Private
Public
Serious Ailments
Medical Travel Insurance
Top 20 Attractions
El Petén
History
Flora & Fauna
Melchor de Mencos
Getting Here & Getting Around
By Bus
Adventures on Foot
Exploring Maya Ruins
Yaxhá-Nakúm-Naranjo Triangle
Where to Stay
Where to Eat
Lake Petén Itzá
Flores
History
Getting Here & Getting Around
By Bus
By Car
By Plane
By Boat
Adventures on Foot
Where to Stay
Where to Eat
San Andrés & San José
Getting Here
Spanish Language
SIGHTSEEING
WHERE TO STAY
EL REMATE
HISTORY
GETTING HERE
ADVENTURES ON FOOT
HIKING IN BIOTOPE CERRO CAHUI
ADVENTURES IN NATURE
BIRDWATCHING IN BIOTOPE CERRO CAHUI
ADVENTURES ON WHEELS
BIKING AROUND THE LAKE
ADVENTURES ON HORSEBACK
ADVENTURES ON WATER
CROCODILE TOUR
WHERE TO STAY & EAT
Maya Biosphere
TIKAL NATIONAL PARK
GETTING HERE
HISTORY
EXPLORING THE RUINS
Complex Q & Complex R
The Great Plaza
MUNDO PERDIDO (LOST WORLD COMPLEX)
PRACTICALITIES
WHERE TO STAY
WHERE TO EAT
UAXACTÚN RUINS
HISTORY
EXPLORING THE RUINS
TOURS
WHERE TO STAY
BIOTOPE EL ZOTZ
EL MIRADOR NATIONAL PARK
HISTORY
EXPLORING THE RUINS
TOURS
EL MIRADOR TOUR OPERATORS
RÍO AZUL NATIONAL PARK
HISTORY
EXPLORING THE RUINS
TOURS
AUTHORIZED RÍO AZUL TOUR COMPANIES
LAGUNA DEL TIGRE NATIONAL PARK
ADVENTURES IN NATURE
SCARLET MACAW TRAIL
LAGUNA DEL TIGRE TOUR COMPANIES
Southwest of the Maya Biosphere
SIERRA LACANDÓN NATIONAL PARK
SIERRA LACANDÓN TOUR COMPANIES
PIEDRAS NEGRAS RUINS
PIEDRAS NEGRAS TOUR COMPANIES
SIDE TRIP TO MEXICO
GETTING THERE
BONAMPAK RUINS
YAXCHILÁN
PALENQUE
HISTORY
EXPLORING THE RUINS
WHERE TO STAY
Sayaxché & Petexbatún Lagoon
SAYAXCHÉ
GETTING HERE
MAYA RUINS
CEIBAL
ALTAR DE SACRIFICIOS
PUNTA DE CHIMINO FORTIFICATION
AGUATECA
Nacimiento (Birth)
DOS PILAS
Exploring the Ruins
TAMARINDITO
ADVENTURES ON WATER
TOURS
WHERE TO STAY
WHERE TO EAT
Southeast of the Maya Biosphere
POPTÚN
IXCÚN & IXTONTÓN MAYA RUINS
ADVENTURES ON FOOT
CAVING
MACHAQUILÁ FOREST RESERVE
ADVENTURES ON HORSEBACK
WHERE TO STAY & EAT
Appendix
Information Sources
Conservation Organizations
Eco-Tourism Agencies
Embassies & Consular Offices of Guatemala
Emergency Phone Numbers
Travel Agencies
Volunteer Opportunities
Website Directory
Recommended Reading
Spanish Glossary
Introduction
Guatemala is the heart of the Maya world and it is mysterious, compelling, magical and tragic all at once. Layers of history envelop this country like a patchwork quilt. There are enigmatic Maya ruins alongside grandiose cathedrals built by the Conquistadors. The diversity of the landscapes is astonishing. In a matter of hours you can go from a windswept mountain peak to steamy mangroves by tropical waters. But the real reason we come to Guatemala is for the Maya people. In this age of anonymous, mass-produced culture, they are unique. The Maya have held onto their language, culture and traditions against an onslaught from the Western world that began with Conquistadors and continues with the United States. Their lasting powers are seen in the enigmatic Maya ruins, centuries old, that are found alongside grandiose cathedrals built by the Conquistadors.
Guatemala offers incredible adventures, not only with the nature but also with the Maya themselves. Coming here changes you - exactly what adventure travel is all about.
Lake Atitlan
History
Guatemala has been settled for thousands of years7. Throughout the centuries there have been many battles fought over land and power. Unfortunately, little of the fighting has helped the people of Guatemala, who are still waiting for a more democratic society. In order to understand Guatemala today, you must know its history. Once you understand how much the people have gone through, you can appreciate their courage and admire their ability to still celebrate life.
Mundo Maya
The Olmecs were the very first to arrive and are considered the forefathers of the Maya. Remnants of their cities and monuments are found scattered throughout the Pacific region and date back to 3000 BC. Little is known about the Olmecs, and most of the information about them comes from Veracruz, Mexico, where many of their sculptures and ruins are found.
The Olmec civilization peaked around 2500 BC. As it began its decline, the Maya emerged, eventually developing into one of the most advanced civilizations in the ancient world. While most of Europe was still squatting in caves, the Maya were building grand temples and pyramids.
Maya calendar date drawn by SG Morley
The Preclassic period began in 1500 BC with the construction of several sites located in Belize and northern Guatemala. By 700 BC, the Maya had advanced enough to develop writing and a hieroglyphic language. They began recording dates and experimenting with mathematics as well. Around 400 BC they made another giant leap forward with their development of the concept of zero. They used this discovery to create their calendar system and develop astronomy using highly evolved mathematics. The Maya calendar system remains the most accurate calendar created by man and was far more precise than the Gregorian calendar used by modern man. Some of their astronomical calculations rival those made at NASA. By 300 BC, the Maya society had created the concept of the king and a hierarchy emerged. The cities of Kaminal Juyú, Abaj Takalik and El Mirador were built up and extensive trade routes grew between them. During this time, the Maya calendar was perfected even further and sophisticated architectural styles were developed.
In AD 200 the Classic period began. This was a golden era that saw many cities built and filled with monumental sculptures and magnificent temples. Smaller cities, such as Tikal, blossomed into major forces throughout the Maya world. Other cities - such as Yaxchilán, Dos Pilas, Ceibal, Piedras Negras, Uaxactún, Yaxhá and Naranjo - were built up during this time with their famous stelae and temples. They became part of the network of kingdoms throughout Guatemala. By AD 500, Tikal controlled most of these cities, along with the trade routes extending up into the northern Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and as far south as El Salvador. Society became even more structured, with an elite competing for a chance to rule. Not only did the king constantly have to prove his right to the throne, he also had to show how he was directly descended from the gods. Monumental art, using limestone carved with hieroglyphics and portraits of the kings, were their main form of propaganda. The elaborate details of their victories have become our best source of information about the Maya.
From AD 705 and well into the Terminal Classic period (AD 900-1400), the whole area was plagued by war. One theory is that these prolonged wars were brought about by the necessity of the king to prove his worthiness in battle and to conquer neighboring cities. In AD 800, the Toltecs from northern Mexico began invading the Maya world and there were more battles to be fought. By AD 950, long-standing alliances and trade routes had begun to break down and, by AD 976, the Classic period was over; many of the great cities were abandoned.
No one knows what caused the collapse of this great civilization and it remains one of the greatest mysteries surrounding the Maya. But the Maya did not completely disappear. There were pockets of tribes that continued building cities, albeit on a much smaller scale. In AD 1200, the northern Itzá tribe, escaping war in the Yucatán, fled south to create their kingdom of Noh-Petén (now Flores) on the island of Chal Tun Ha (Lake Péten). At the same time the Kingdom of Petexbatún, farther west, was also building up its cities. But these kingdoms eventually fell and, by AD 1470, only the Northern Highland tribes were flourishing. The Cakchiquel Maya developed their capital city of Ixmiche and began conquering the surrounding tribes. They were soon at war with the Quiche and eventually became their slaves. The Quiche developed their capital, K'umarcaaj, and controlled the area until the Conquistadors appeared in 1524.
Colonial Times
Although the Spanish arrived in Central America as early as 1501, they did not visit Guatemala until 1523 when Hernán Cortés sent his lieutenant, Pedro de Alvarado, to conquer Guatemala. Alvarado had a reputation as a brilliant but vicious solider, and it did not take him long to bring the feuding Maya tribes under his control. After landing on the Pacific coast, he gradually headed north to what is now Quetzaltenango, leaving a trail of death and destruction along the way. He named this newly conquered land the Kingdom of Guatemala; it extended as far north as Chiapas, Mexico and south to Panama. Alvarado founded Santiago de Caballeros de Guatemala, the first Conquistador capital, near Ixmiche. This city became his base as he conquered the rest of Central America, Peru and Ecuador. He moved Santiago Antigua to the Panchoy Valley near the foot of Volcán Agua in 1541. Shortly afterwards, he was killed in a battle in Mexico, in an area now known as Guadalajara. Alvarado's wife, Dona Beatriz de la Cueva, took over as the first (and only) female governor of Guatemala. She was in office only a few weeks before being killed in the earthquake and subsequent mudslide that destroyed Antigua Viejo.
Pedro de Alvarado
The army of soldiers and monks that Alvarado and his wife left behind continued to conquer the country. As part of their campaign to convert the Maya to Christianity, the Franciscan and Dominican monks built churches, cathedrals and convents in every region, often using the rubble from the Maya temples destroyed by Alvarado. By 1650, European disease or guns had killed 85% of the Maya. Those who survived were enslaved and forced to work on Conquistador farms. A small portion escaped to the mountains.
When it was determined that no gold or silver would be found, Spain lost interest in Guatemala and, by the late 1700s, it was almost completely ignored. This did not mean that Spain relinquished its hold, though. It insisted that all of Guatemala's tobacco, indigo, cotton, cacao and cochineal dye be sent directly to Spain and did not allow Guatemala to trade with any other country. This economic bias created a wealthy merchant class centered in Antigua; the rest of the country was populated with poor farmers. Antigua grew into one of the most beautiful cities in Central America, while the rest of the country stagnated.
The 1800s were marked by civil unrest. A rigid social hierarchy had formed, with the Spanish at the top, followed by Creoles (pure Spanish born in Guatemala), then Ladinos (Maya and