This is the taller of the two in the Gran Plaza. Seventeen years ago you could still climb it I am glad to see that they restrict that now. The workmanship and the massiveness of this temple us something to see.
What a wonderful city it must have been you must go there to experience this place. I was filled with awe as I walked around the city so many wondrous buildings.
The true image of Tikal. Beautiful at all times of the day. Try to get there before the crowds and the never ending number if people who just have to stand in front of it to have their photo taken.
It will echo from one temple to the other! The Gran Plaza is a humbling, awe inspiring experience. We spent the better part of an hour exploring just this square.
I attended Tikal National Park with a number of persons from our tour group. Our group leader organised the trip with a English speaking local who had excellent knowledge of the history of each site within the park. He was able to talk about the culture, religion, farming, weather etc with great authority and with a sense of humour. We arrived at the park to enter as soon as it opened at 6am, the trip from Flores was not too far but we did leave quite early. The entry fee was 150 Q.After a quick breakfast at the site, we reviewed the large 3D aerial view of the national park and a quick overview of our day was given. It was clear that the park was spread out over a large area and there were many sites to see. It was noted that the parts excavated were only a small percentage of the the actual civilisation.Following the briefing we began our exploration of the park, the wildlife is amazing, we saw numerous monkeys, deer, Pizotes, birdlife and a tarantula. The pyramids and buildings are well preserved and the landscape is breathtaking with the jungle kept at bay by the great conservation work that is going on.A highlight was climbing to the top of one of the temples and viewing the surrounding area. The tops of other sites are just visible over the tree canopies and this is the famous movie scene from the first original Star Wars.There is a lot of walking involved to get to each site, however it is fairly easy going. We did a lot of stopping and starting due to our guide pointing out plants and other points of interest.Although a very popular location, we did not have issues with the crowds and this was due to our early start but also because the park is so large. There are no souvenir stands inappropriately scattered throughout the park which was nice. The grounds were very clean of rubbish. There are points were food and drink can be purchased.After seeing many archaeological sites in Mexico, visiting Tikal in Guatemala would have to be up there as one of my favourites and I definitely recommend visiting this place with a guide of good repute as this certainly added to the experience.Definitely would return to this place.Visited May 2013
Thee temple of the grand Jaguar was build for king Moon Double Comb, one of the most prolific builders in Tikal. His burial is here and the temple was finished by his son. At the top there are 3 rooms, however when we visited you could not climb this one because some people had died while going up.
Overlooks the great plaza and looks across at temple 2. Unfortunately you can't climb up on this one.....
Tikal Archeological SiteQ150 after 3:30 gets you two days in the ruins with regular hours being 6am-6pm. The sunrise and sunset extra hours are at Q100 each and you need a guide, the guide is so you can find your way in the dark, for good information and you do not want to miss the special effects. It was cloudy so I did not take advantage of this service.Tikal is very nice, touristy and commercialized with hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops. The road into it was good by Central America standards. When I got here it hadn’t rained much for quite a while, this made it nice for me to climb the hillsides and ruins (when its wet it can be very slippery. I also camped in the park for three days (and returned after visiting Uaxactun Ruins), nice shelters are available, bathrooms and showers are clean for Q50 per night. Their electric is with a generator next to camping park, but it only runs a few hours a day (7am till noon and again 6 to 9pm for the restaurants were you can use their Wi-Fi and electric to recharge your batteries). The restaurant food and drinks are good but to expansive for my budget, but the locals do sell good food and drinks at very reasonably prices outside under the trees in the parking lot. I do recommend this. Otherwise bring your own supplies for there is not any in the park.
The grandeur, the architecture and the incredible craftsmanship of the Mayan culture are worth seeing, this temple delivers and does not disappoint. Unlike Temple IV which you don't get a view of the whole, this Temple is there for the taking, enjoy the site! Hope this review was helpful!!!
Tikal ruins is a great place for photos. Unlike other ruins (Chitzen Itza, Mexico) you can get as close as you want to take photos & touch.Tikal ruins is amazing & definitely worth the trip/money.Tikal ruins is so beautiful & amazing.