Guatemala Guide
Petén
The vast northern department of Petén occupies about a third of Guatemala but contains just over three percent of its population. This huge expanse of tropical rainforest, swamps and savannah forms part of an untamed wilderness that stretches into the Lacandón forest and Calakmul reserve of southern Mexico and across the Maya Mountains to Belize. Totally unlike any other part of the country, large expanses of the Petén remain virtually untouched, with ancient ceiba and mahogany trees that tower 50m above the forest floor. The area is extraordinarily rich in wildlife: some 285 species of bird have been sighted at Tikal alone, including a wide range of hummingbirds, toucans, hawks, falcons, wild turkeys and the motmot (a bird of paradise). Among the mammals are the lumbering tapir, ocelots, jaguars and monkeys, plus thousands of species of plants, reptiles, insects and butterflies.
Today the ruins of several hundred ancient Maya sites pepper the region, although many of them still remain completely buried in jungle, and others are known only to locals and looters. Tikaland El Miradorare among the largest and most spectacular of all Maya ruins – Tikal alone has some several thousand buildings – but they represent only a fraction of what was once here.
Highlights
1 Finca Ixobel Kick back and enjoy wonderful home cooking at this rural retreat, set in the pine-clad foothills of the Maya Mountains.
2 Flores Petén's most attractive settlement is a friendly little historic town, with a cosmopolitan choice of restaurants and cafés.
3 Tikal Explore the spectacular ruins of an ancient Maya metropolis, set in a protected rainforest reserve that's teeming with wildlife.
4 Lago de Petexbatún A beautiful remote lake, fringed by thick rainforest, around whose shores are some fascinating Maya ruins.
5 Yaxhá The ruins of this once-massive Maya city include a glut of imposing temple pyramids, some from the Preclassic era.
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