Tag Archives: Mayan

Xunantunich – A Mayan Site in Belize

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Another day in San Ignacio, another day exploring Mayan Ruins. xunantunich-29-of-30Today I visit Xunantunich (pronounced /ʃunantunit͡ʃ/), which is located south of San Ignacio about 12.5km on the Western Highway before you get to the border of Guatemala. Xunantunich is located atop a ridge above the Mopan River, well within sight of the Guatemala border – which is a mere 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) to the west. One of the unique things about this site is that to get to it, youxunantunich-2-of-30 must cross the Mopan River on foot or in your car via a ferry that is hand cranked across the river via cables. Once across the river, it is a 1.2km uphill road, that is not well maintained. Be careful of all the people walking this route.

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Xunantunich’s name means “Stone Woman” in the Maya language. The core of the city Xunantunich occupies about one square mile (2.6 km²), consisting of a series of six plazas surrounded by more than 26 temples and palaces. The site is much smaller than Tikal in Guatemala but still is impressive. Xunantunich was recently found in the 1890’s.

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One of Xunantunich’s better-known structures is the pyramid known asxunantunich-4-of-30 “El Castillo”. It is the second tallest structure in Belize, at some 130 feet (40 m) tall. This is the structure that the legend of the “Stone Women”, a ghost of a woman claimed by several people to inhabit the site, is seen ascending the stone stairs and disappearing into a stone wall. She is dressed completely in white and has fire-red glowing eyes.

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Before you cross the river, you should hire one of the many guides that will be available at the ferry. They are all licensed by the Government and have badges hanging around their necks. The price is negotiable and depends on how many hours you will spend onsite with them. They are well worth the money and will be able to assist you in exploring the site.

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Even though this is not a large site compared to Tikal, it is very xunantunich-13-of-30impressive, and very well maintained by the Belize government. There is a lot more destruction of the structures that make up this site. This is due to the way the early excavation was performed here at Xunantunich in which they used dynamite to expose the various structures, and also due to Earthquake damage.xunantunich-10-of-30 Currently, they are doing lots of restoration work to fix the damaged structures here on the site. I also noticed lots of “blue” tarps over some of the structures, this is to minimize the erosion of the stone due to the elements.

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The parking area has a very nice gift shop and information centerxunantunich-8-of-30 located by it. Inside the information center, you will find lots of great information and  pictures of the various precious artifacts found on the site. This is the first Mayan Ruins that showed a picture description of the “Tree of Life” that plays a key role in the religion and beliefs of the Mayan people. There is a lot to see within the Visitor Center, so plan on spending an hour or so doing this.

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The fine stucco or “friezes” can be seen as part of the Temple of “El Castillo”. The frieze depicts the birth of a god associated with the royal family, gods of creation, as well as the tree of life (which extends from the underworld, the earth, and the heavens).

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The view from on top of El Castillo is spectacular, and should not be missed. It is not easy to ascend this monument and takes some time to do. Once on top, you can oversee the whole complex of Xunantunich and the surrounding countryside.

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One thing I noticed at this site is the relatively small amount of people visiting. According to my guide, this is because most visitors decide to go to either Tikal or one of the other many sites nearby, and miss this one completely. I highly recommend that anyone visiting San Ignacio spend the extra day and come to this site.

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Next up will be the San Ignacio Farmers Market.

Tikal National Park – Mayan City located in Guatemala

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The trip to Tikal National Park located in Guatemala.

It has been over 18 years since I last visited the Tikal National Park in Guatemala, and today’s the day. What I remember of Tikal was the sheer size of the City and the amount of buildings and pyramids that made it up. I also remember being able to climb most of the pyramids and buildings and observe the spectacular views from the top of them.

Since Tikal is located in Guatemala, you really need to hire a tour group to assist you in crossing the border to / from Belize and Guatemala. Also because of the size of Tikal, you will need a guide to assist you in navigating this National Monument. As it was 18 years ago, there is still a lot of friction between the governments of Belize and Guatemala over ownership of the borders for each Country. As a foreigner to both countries, you do not want to make this crossing into Guatemala by yourself, or without a reputable tour company. Don’t forget to bring your passport!

Whatever tour group you book with, you will end up getting out, getting your passport stamped, paying an exit fee, and changing vans and drivers at the border. Apparently, only Guatemalan  vehicles and drivers are allowed to drive in the Country due to insurance and licensing regulations.

The tour company I signed up with picked me up at my Hotel around 8 am. and we were on our way to Tikal. The trip takes about 2.5 hours from San Ignacio, Belize to the Tikal National Park in Guatemala, including the stop at the border. The group I was with consisted of US, British, and Canadians for a total of 7 people in a van. The roads are paved and the ride is comfortable, considering that you are out in the middle of nowhere.tikal-2-of-51

Along the way, we passed a few lakes, one of which there were many Guatemalans down at the waters edge washing clothing. We stopped to stretch, which gave me a chance to take a few pictures. According to our guide, thistikal-1-of-51 particular lake (Laguna Salpeten Macenche) contains a lot of mineral content and therefore has been found to really help in cleaning soil from clothing. Apparently, there are no gators in the water either.

Our next stop right before the Route 3 split from CA13 highway, we stopped at a gift shop / restaurant to order lunch for later when we return from our day at Tikal. The gift shop had lots of fine wood carvings and tourist stuff for visitors to / from the Mayan ruins. Note the intricate carvings and grain of the wood on the Mayan face mask shown below.

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A few miles further and we came to yet another, a larger lake called Lago Peten Itza, which is the second largest lake in Guatemala.

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We finally reached the entrance to the Tikal National Ptikal-16-of-51ark, the first thing I noticed different from 18 years ago is that the parking and information center are now very close to where the monuments begin. In the past, you had to walk about a half a mile from the parking / information center to where the Mayan site began. This is great news since you will be walking and covering a lot of the territory while visiting the site. After unloading from the van, most of our passengers opted to go on their own to visit the Mayan city. Having been here before, I knew I wanted to go with the guide since he would know the best route and buildings to view while here. There are lots of informational boards posted around each of the structures that will give you good information on what the structure is and what it was used for by the Mayans.

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It is just amazing that the Mayan civilization could build so tikal-9-of-51many impressive structures and create such a complex city with over 3,000 structures, where estimates are that around 75,000 to 90,000 people lived at its height. The city is built on  limestone ridges that are surrounded by swamplands, and the only water they had was from a tikal-11-of-51collection of rainwater into 10 reservoirs. They used a sophisticated ditch system to collect the rainwater and direct it into these reservoirs. All of the structures built here were made from the local limestone, and wood from the trees here. There are still wood beams that were used when these buildings were constructed that are still intact and have not been replaced or refurbished.

There is lots of fauna and wildlife roaming or flying around, so keep your eyes open and you might catch a glimpse of white-nosed coatis (see picture),

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spider and howler monkeys (see picture),  harpy eagles, falcons, turkeys, guans, toucans, green parrots and leafcutter ants (everywhere). This whole city remained hidden under the rain forest for over 1,000 years before being re-discovered in the 1840’s.

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The views from atop of some of these structures are impressive.tikal-42-of-51 Another thing I noticed different from my previous visit was that some of the structures have been closed to climbing, but they have now constructed stairways on some of the higher monuments so that it is much easier to get to the top, along with safer and less damage to the structure by those that choose to make the climb. My guide explained that recently a climber slipped and fell to their death while climbing on one of the pyramids that did not have wooden stairways built to assist in climbing. The original stone stairs / steps were very high and steep. This was because it was expected that whoever wanted to ascend these structures would have to use their knees to do so, which meant they would never be standing while ascending or descending the structures out of respect for the gods. I can tell you first hand that back in 1998 when I was first here, it was very difficult to climb any of these monuments, and hard on the knees to do.

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You can spend days or weeks here exploring the site, but you will be exhausted after just a few hours of walking. So much to see and do while here at Tikal. Don’t forget to stop at the visitor center to get lots of great information on the Mayan civilization and the city. Of course there is also a souvenir shop at the parking area, but as usual, it is full of overpriced touristy stuff.

What a great day at Tikal, and now it was time for my return triptikal-45-of-51 to the hotel back in San Ignacio, Belize. But first, we need to make a stop for lunch back at that shop we stopped at on the way to Tikal. Our lunch / dinner was good, and we had more time to watch a wood carver creating a new mask for sale in the shop out front. I also noticed and took some pictures of a cacao or cocoa tree with some ripe fruit on it. I had never seen one up close before.

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After our stop for a late lunch / early dinner, we headed back to Belize and again stopped at the border to get our entrance visas and change vans and drivers again.

By the time I arrived back at my Hotel in San Ignacio, it was getting dark and I was exhausted. Tomorrow is another big day for the Turtle.

Coming up next will be my blog on a trip to Xunantunich, another Mayan Site located in Belize.

 

Altun Ha, Belize District, Belize

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After a fantastic morning a the Baboon Sanctuary in Bermudian Landing (see my previous post), I decided I needed to find some lunch and drove North on the Northern Highway towards Sand Hill.

Found a small roadside shack that was offering some local Belizean (chicken, rice, beans, and yucca). Not bad, but very messy to eat. After lunch, I continued north to just past Sand Hill, where the highway splits. I decided to take the Old Northern Highway since it was headed towards the coast, and being the Turtle that I am, I wanted to see the Ocean.

A few miles up the highway, I spotted a sign for a Mayan Ruin called Altun Ha. I have been to Belize before and visited many of the Mayan Ruins, and always found them interesting and worth viewing if you have the time. I have never been to or heard of this site before, so I decided to go visit it.

Once you reach Lucky Strike, you leave the Old Northern Highway and drive west for about 4km and you arrive at the entrance to Altun Ha.

altun-ha-1-of-23 altun-ha-21-of-23At the entrance, there are some shops and information center that will give you the history of this site and what the layout for it is. Of course, there are plenty of guides for hire, and I recommend that you hire one. The guides are all licensed and knowledgeable about the site and the current theories on what happened at this site and where and why the Mayans left here. They also know where to go, and what to see based on how much information or time you have to explore the ruins.

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I negotiated a good price ($20 US) for one of the guides and told him I had the rest of the afternoon to spend here, and I was interested in getting some good photos and information on the ruins.

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Turtle with Guide

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I was really impressed with the size and scope of these ruins. Some of these structures seemed to be as high and big as the ones I remembered from my last visit to the Tikal ruins in Guatemala. The nice thing about these ruins is that they are off the beaten tourist path, so not many visitors and you can still climb many of the structures. I am always amazed at how an old civilization like the Mayans was able to plan, construct and build such large, ornate, and geometrically accurate structures without the modern tools of today.

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As with all the Mayan sites found in Central America, only about 10-20% of the site has been excavated, many of the structures are still buried under the earth and trees of the forest. This is to preserve these structures for future generations, since once exposed to the elements, most of these ruins will fade away to nothing.

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One of the exciting objects found at this site is the jade head at Altun Ha, which is considered a national treasure of Belize.

Turtle at Altun Ha (I am not a national Treasure of Belize)

Turtle at Altun Ha (I am not a national Treasure of Belize)

Coming up next will be the Belize Zoo.