Tikal can be reached from Belize or Guatemala City by road or air. The airport for Tikal is in Santa Elena, a suburb of Flores , so the airport is often called the “ Flores airport ".
Hotels for Tikal are:
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Within the Tikal National Park itself
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Half-hour away in El Remate, Peten, on the shores of Lake Peten Itza
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An hour away on the island of Flores or adjacent suburb of Santa Elena
Tikal offers the visitor an opportunity to see:
- Mayan pyramids and temples
- Mayan palaces
- Mayan ballcourts
- Mayan stelae and altars
- Mayan acropolises and plaza
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Great Jaguar and Ballcourt, Picture by Nicholas Hellmuth
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Temple V, roofcomb.
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This web site, www.maya-archaeology.org, is one of the few sites on Tikal by an archaeologist who excavated at Tikal and discovered many of the Mayan artifacts in the site museum. After working at Tikal , Nicholas Hellmuth went on to map the complete ancient Maya city of Yaxha. He lobbied five years with the Guatemalan government to have this area declared a national park: the Lake Yaxha-Lake Sacnab National Park is the result of his five years, 1970-1974. Since then Guatemalan archaeologists have increased this park to include Nakum and Naranjo.
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Central Acropolis, El Peten (Picture by Nicholas Hellmuth)
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Stelae Group Q, Tikal Guatemala.
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First posted January 17, 2007.
