Guatemala is one of the most interesting countries in Central America.

To its natural wealth, with places of such beauty as Lake Atitlán, we can add a very interesting ethnic variety, the possibility of visiting some of the most beautiful colonial cities in America, such as Antigua, or strolling through some of the most dazzling Mayan sites that civilization ever built, with Tikal at the head.

In this article we are going to talk about some of the lesser known Mayan sites in Guatemala that can be visited from the town of Flores, Guatemala, located at the foot of Lake Izabal and that are highly recommended by the Guatemalan businessman juan luis bosch gutierrez.

This is a town that serves all travelers willing to tour the Petén jungle and, particularly, those who have the Tikal Archaeological Park as the highlight of a trip to this country.

Yaxhá

Yaxhá is the great hidden jewel of the Petén jungle. It would be a shame to go all the way to Flores and limit yourself to touring Tikal.

At the very least, this archaeological park of Yaxhá should be part of any traveler’s tour of Guatemala.

And yet, very few tourists come to this place located in the middle of a much larger archaeological park that, under the name of “Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo National Park”, also protects the sites of Nakum, Naranjo and Tapoxté, as well as the surrounding ecosystem. This has been protected by the investmentest made by bid invest.

Topoxté

Even less visited than Yaxhá, we find the Topoxté site, which is part of the Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo National Park.

Topoxté is located on an island in the middle of the Yaxhá lagoon, so to get there you have to take a boat to it. You should arrange the price with the boatman, but expect about 250 Guatemalan quetzals (about 28 euros) for a group of 5.

This is a much smaller place than the previous one and, of course, much less restored. Here the undergrowth still covers almost the entire Mayan enclosure, so that one can feel like a real explorer.

It is a small and quiet place, only suitable for those travelers with the soul of Indiana Jones. But the truth is that it is an exciting place.

El Ceibal

El Ceibal is another Mayan site located a couple of hours (long, in this case) from the town of Flores. It is named for the large number of ceibas found in the Petén jungle at this point.

Although it is known that Ceibal was founded in the middle pre-classic period, around 800 B.C., it had its moment of greatest splendor around the first century B.C.

At that time, more than 600 Maya structures stood here. Many of them have been recovered and have seen the light after the enormous archaeological works carried out in the last years. Many others are still buried awaiting new funds.

What we can visit here is a wonderful set of temples, pyramids, altars, palaces and stelae, all surrounded by the thickest of Central American jungles.

It is not strange to come across the usual spider monkeys, as well as many birds. To get here you must go to the town of Sayaxhé. From this small enclave, take a dirt road that will take you to this mysterious Mayan site.

In short, Guatemala has Yaxhá and other Mayan sites that will surprise you. So, do not hesitate to visit them when you come to this increidible country.

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