3 Night Tour of Tikal, Uaxactun and Yaxha. Tikal Park tour.

Ancient Maya of the Rainforest Ruins of Tikal
3 night visit to the breathtaking Maya ruins, lush rainforest jungle and spectacular views from the pyramids of Tikal, Uaxactun and Yaxha. For location of Tikal see our MayaMap page.

Day 1: Your adventure begins with your evening flight from Guatemala City to Flores (closest airport to Tikal). Arriving at 7:30 pm you'll transfer directly to the Tikal Inn. Located in wildlife filled Tikal Park, the hotel has obtained exclusive sunrise and sunset access to the archaeological site for their guests. From the hotel's grounds you can observe spider and howler monkeys, roaming wild turkeys and numerous bird species such as toucans, parrots, and macaws in the towering ceiba trees. Overnight Tikal Inn.

Day 2: Optional sunrise at Tikal. (Weather permitting.) You have a full day to visit the spectacular Mayan ruins at Tikal. One of the most famous and beautiful of Maya sites, Tikal’s massive and steep pyramids (one is over 200 feet high) loom above the lush jungle of the Peten. With a history beginning at 600 BC when farmers settled in the high ground above the swamps of Lake Peten, at its peak Tikal was home to an estimated 100,000 people and the site has over 3,000 structures within a six square mile area. Glyphic texts tell of a dynamic written historical record spanning over 1,800 years, including a very old date of 292 AD. For your maximum enjoyment of Tikal, climb the highest pyramid, Temple 4, and get a birds-eye view of the site above the jungle canopy. You'll also visit the Sylvanus Morley Museum. Optional sunset at Tikal. (Weather permitting.) Overnight Tikal Inn.

Day 3: Early morning visit the Maya ruins at Uaxactun, located in the 1.65 million hectare Maya Biosphere Reserve, which is part of the largest body of intact tropical forest in Central America. Archaeologists have determined that the four major structures at Uaxactun were probably used for astronomical studies as they are aligned to the sunrise on equinoxes and solstices. An important part of the history of how Tikal became one of the great empires of the ancient Maya world was its conflict with Uaxactun. Tikal and Uaxactun are so close to each other (just 12 miles apart) that they engaged in a long period of struggle for domination of the region. To quote Schele & Freidel in A Forest of Kings: "Their competition ... was resolved violently in AD 378 by means of an innovative type of warfare we call Tlaloc-Venus war, or sometimes simply "star wars". This new method of warfare was borrowed from the central Mexico civilizations and had a great impact on the wars between the kingdoms of the Peten region. Unlike former wars that were ritualized combats for personal glory and to capture captives to sacrifice to the gods, this new warfare had much higher stakes -- if you lost the war you lost your kingdom."

In the afternoon visit Lake Yaxhá. On the banks of its beautiful lagoon is the Maya ruin site of Yaxhá ("Green Water"). Yaxhá was the third largest Maya city in the Peten (after El Mirador & Tikal) and has an unusual layout for the region. Its twin pyramid complexes, 9 acropolis', plazas and more than 500 structures are connected by sacbés (ancient elevated roads) in a manner more similar to Maya sites in the Yucatan. The views of the jungle from the 30 meter high Structure 216 are breathtaking. Birds, butterflies, spider and howler monkeys abound at this remote jungle site. Then to Flores for a walking tour of the island and the small archaeological site of Tayasal (former Maya name of Flores before the Spanish conquest). Overnight at Hotel Peten Esplendido in Santa Elena (across the causeway from Flores Island).

Day 4: Early morning transfer to Flores airport for flight to Guatemala City.

Tour Specifics: This tour can be customized to meet your individual needs and interests.

Cost per person for this 3 night private tour (double occupancy):

2 people $900 per person
4 people $820 per person
6 people $760 per person
8 people $700 per person

Minimal cost for children under age 12 sharing the same room as 2 adults.

Tour includes:

-- 3 nights hotel and tourist taxes.
-- All ground transportation in privately chauffeured van with a/c including pick up and drop off at the Flores airport.
-- 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 2 dinners per person.
-- All other entry and guide fees for activities listed on the itinerary.
-- The all day services of one of our expert licensed guides on the days you tour the ruins and archaeological sites.

Tour does not include round-trip airfare Guatemala City/Flores (approximately $300 including taxes and fees). Flights from other countries connect through Guatemala City. Contact us about air ticket prices from your departing airport.

Prices for Dec. 18-Jan. 6 and Easter week may be slightly higher depending on hotel policies.

Combine this tour with a Copan tour --
6 night Tikal & Copan tour.

UPCOMING SMALL GROUP TOURS

Classic Maya of the Rainforest
Palenque & Tikal
Dec. 8-15, 2013:
Palenque, Bonampak, Yaxchilan, La Venta Olmec
Museum, Tikal, Uaxactun, Yaxha & more!

Special Once-A-Year Tour
Carnival Festivals of the Highland Maya
February 26 to March 6, 2014
Palenque, Bonampak, Yaxchilan, La Venta
Olmec Museum, Tonina, San Juan Chamula,
Zincanatan & more!

Spring Equinox at Chichen Itza
& Dzibilchaltun
March 18-22, 2014:
Plus Ek Balam, Uxmal, Labna,
Kabah, Tulum, Coba & More!

Classic Maya of the Rainforest in Palenque
March 23-27, 2014:
Palenque, Bonampak, Yaxchilan,
La Venta Olmec Museum & more!

Tikal is a very good connecting point for these other parts of the Maya world:

By boat you can visit Maya sites on the nearby rivers such as Aguateca, Ceibal, Cancuen, El Peru (Waka), Dos Pilas and Altar de Sacrificios.

By land and boat you can cross over the river to visit Yaxchilan, Bonampak, Palenque and Tonina.

By land or air you can travel to Quirigua and Copan in Honduras.

By land you can travel to Belize to visit Xunantunich, Caracol, Cahal Pech, Lubaantun, Lamanai and numerous underground caves.

By air or land you can go to Guatemala City to visit the museums and the highland Maya villages of Antigua, Atitlán, Chichicastenango and Santiago de Atitlan (to name a few) and ancient Maya archaeological sites at Ixmiche and Utatlàn.

By air you can fly to Cancun to visit the Yucatan sites (Chichen Itza, Tulum, Uxmal, etc.).

By helicopter you can fly to the newly excavated El Mirador and nearby Nakbe.

See our MayaMap page for locations.

For FREE information or to reserve this tour contact Mayasites Travel Services
Phone our U.S. office toll free 1-877-620-8715
Outside of the U.S. (country code 1) 505-255-2279
Or, e-mail us at mayasites@yahoo.com. See you soon!