Tikal

After a short plane ride and a long shuttle, we arrived at the Jungle Lodge, which we had selected for its walking proximity to the Tikal park. We weren't a fan of the lodge, but you can read more about that here.

We arrived on a Thursday night and spent the entire next Friday in Tikal. We were amazed at how big the park was and how visitors could climb and go inside most of the pyramids and monuments. The park was well organized and it was easy to navigate, and it was not crowded at all. The cost per person was $22.

We also loved the wildlife in the park. You could hear and see howler monkeys, and we saw a variety of birds. The best wildlife experience though was when we were leaving the park and encountered a large group of spider monkeys climbing a pyramid. There are jaguars in the park as well but we did not encounter any.

As far as snacking goes, there were various places to get light snacks and drinks throughout the park. It was quite hot so having easy access to water was great. There was a cafeteria at the park, but we decided to eat at the Jungle Lodge where we were staying.

The park was quite big but you could see all of it in a day, and evening passes were available to purchase as well. We opted for an early morning tour where we could watch the sunrise from atop one of the tallest pyramids, which we were told was a spectacular experience. Both the early morning and evening passes cost $14 each. Unfortunately for us there was so much fog we basically didn't see anything. But we did hear some interesting jungle sounds.

For the huge complex, the ability to climb most of the ruins, and the wildlife, I would consider Tikal a must-see for visitors to Guatemala, and it was one of the major highlights of our Latin American adventures.