Since my previous visit, 25 years ago, I had forgotten what Tikal looked like. It has a real ‘lost city’ feel, especially at the main plaza. With its white stucco elements and honeycomb towers, it has a different architectural style than the other Maya sites. There’s much more to see than the pyramids: I encountered petroglyphs, steam baths, water reservoirs (Tikal had no access to water other than what was collected from rainwater), stelae, giant stucco masks, and historical graffiti too. Howler monkeys, Geoffroy’s spider monkeys, coatis (pizotes), and agoutis are mammals that are easily seen as well.

This time I explored the park in 2 sessions, from 14-17 on the first day and the next day from 6-10. I stayed overnight near the entrance at the Tikal Inn. I walked 10 and 12kms respectively during these visits, and believe to have covered all there is to see. Maps.me works and will show the approximate location of all structures (the connecting smaller paths aren’t displayed that accurately). The way to the Exit (Salida) is always signposted. There aren’t special Covid measures at the site, which is mostly unsupervised anyway. Especially the morning session was very quiet, with hardly any other visitors around.

My Highlights

• View above the canopy from the Mundo Perdido pyramid (it’s also the only place where your phone will pick up a 4g signal),
• Palace of the Grooves (building with grooved vertical panels, entered via a narrow passageway),
• Complex Q (twin pyramids built to celebrate the end of a katun, a 20-year period; including stelae and altars),
• Temple V (the first big temple to be built, in 600 AD; pictured),
• The twin towers at the Main Plaza.

Getting there on public transport
Minivans by a company called Atim leave a few times per day from the central bus terminal in Santa Elena (Flores). Enter the terminal, exit again unto the parking lot of the buses and go all the way to the left, around the corner. The office of Atim is the penultimate, next to Cristobal Colon. Don’t listen to people telling you that the public buses won’t run or “have just left”, especially not to that guy from Mundo Maya who has a loud presence at the bus station. When you can’t find it, ask around for buses to Remate, as the word “Tikal” alone brings dollar signs into the eyes of many. My 10 a.m. bus took 1.5 hours, cost 50Q and it stopped at the park gate to let you buy the entrance tickets to Tikal.