Advantages: Breathtaking ruins in vivid jungle packed full of rainbow coloured birds and lively animals. Disadvantages: Violent crime awaits the unwary.
...amongst the ferns. At Tikal you find yourself surrounded not only by ancient history, but also by the crazy, thriving beauty of the natural world at its most forceful and vibrant.
The Tikal ruins were first seen by Europeans in the late 19th century, lead here by rubber farmers. What these first tourists saw were only great humps in the jungle and the occasional protruding stone. The excavation work (well documented in the visitor’s centre which ...
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Advantages: Extremely beautiful Disadvantages: Only two hotels and it gets packed with local tourists
which anyone in the area should put at the top of their things to see list. In essence, it's an ancient Mayan city in the middle of the Guatemalan tropical rainforest, where a thousand years ago, a million people lived. It was "rediscovered" (ie everyone in the area knew perfectly well it was there but that didn't count, then a bunch of Europeans found it) earlier this century, I think, by which point most of the buildings had disappeared under vegetation. ...
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Advantages: Spectacular ruins in a green setting Disadvantages: Becoming more popular and wildlife is suffering
I have visited Tikal twice now - once about 8 years ago and again two years ago. I say this, because I noticed the difference in the amount of birdlife between the two visits. Perhaps I was unlucky, but there seemed to be far fewer birds on this trip. Having said this, I still rate Tikal as one of my favourite ancient sites in the world.
Tikal really ought to be better known. Ok, it takes a special trip to get there - a flight from Guatemala city ...
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