OVERVIEW

1 Arrival Guatemala City Hotel Las Americas

2 Transfer to Tikal Tikal Jungle Lodge

3 Tikal Arqueological Park Tikal Jungle Lodge

4 Tikal Arqueological Park Tikal Jungle Lodge

5 Transfer to Copán Hacienda San Lucas

6 Copan Archaeological site Hacienda San Lucas

7 Transfer to Gracias Casa Celaque

8 Visit to Celaque Hummingbird Garden

Transfer to Lake Yojoa Panacam Lodge

9 Panacam / Sendero La Naturaleza Panacam Lodge

10 Boat trip Lake Yojoa / Los Naranjos

Transfer to Pico Bonito

Pico Bonito Lodge

11 Pico Bonito Pico Bonito Lodge

12 Pico Bonito Pico Bonito Lodge

13 Pico Bonito Pico Bonito Lodge

14 Boat trip Cuero y Salado

Transfer Guanaja Roland’s Garden

15 Boat trip around Guanaja / Graham’s Place Roland’s Garden

16 Birding Guanaja / Transfer Tela Cesar Mariscos

17 Lancetilla Botanical Garden Cesar Mariscos

18 Transfer to San Pedro sula Airport

The dominance of an Indian culture within its interior uplands distinguishes Guatemala from its Central American neighbours. The origin of the name Guatemala is Indian, but its derivation and meaning are undetermined. Some hold that the original form was Quauhtemallan (indicating an Aztec rather than a Mayan origin), meaning “land of trees,” and others hold that it is derived from Guhatezmalha, meaning “mountain of vomiting water”— referring no doubt to such volcanic eruptions as the one that destroyed Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala (modern-day Antigua Guatemala), the first permanent Spanish capital of the region’s captaincy general. The country’s contemporary capital, Guatemala City, is a major metropolitan centre; Quetzaltenango in the western highlands is the nucleus of the Indian population.

The surface of Guatemala is characterized by four major topographical features. Southern Guatemala is dominated by a string of 27 volcanoes extending for about 180 miles (300 km) between Mexico and El Salvador. Between the volcanoes and the Pacific Ocean lies a fertile plain ranging 25–30 miles (40–50 km) in width. The Petén region, a large, low-lying, rectangular area, juts northward to occupy a portion of the Yucatán Peninsula, a limestone platform shared with Mexico and Belize. Sandwiched between the volcanic landscape and the Petén are the high mountain ranges and valleys. These arc gently eastward from Mexico for a distance of 210 miles (340 km), extending into northern Honduras.

Tikal Ruins main plaza

In the Petén, a dense rainforest is interspersed with patches of savanna grasslands. The sierras are forested with oak and pine. In the volcanic highlands, stands of pine, fir, and oak have been largely destroyed except on the highest slopes. On the Pacific coastal plain, the landscape largely has been cleared of its tropical forest and savanna.

The richest variety of animal life inhabits the lowland forest areas, although some species, such as deer, monkeys, peccaries, tapirs, ocelots, and jaguars, are increasingly rare. Among the reptiles of note are numerous snake species, crocodiles, and iguanas. The birdlife of the rainforests is particularly exuberant and includes the radiantly plumaged quetzal (Pharomachrus), the national bird, for which a reserve has been set aside in the sierras near Cobán.

The Mayan ruins found within the park’s boundaries have been abandoned for more than 1,000 years. Once believed lost forever, this incredible complex was once known as Yax Mutal. Many buildings make up these Guatemala Mayan ruins. The oldest ones date back to the fourth century BCE.

Historians believe that the ancient site of these Mayan ruins was occupied far earlier than that, though. The place now known as Tikal Guatemala was a vital part of the Mayan empire as early as 1,000 BCE. Evidence shows that agricultural activity was happening here over 3,000 years ago, and some ceramic remnants have been dated to 700 BCE.

Tikal Ruins in the Guatemalan rainforest