Tikal SUNRISE, Archeological focus and Wildlife Spotting Tour (North and West)
Description
Premium tour visiting the best spots to photograph the monuments. Guaranteed departure, we operate only with 1 guest with no extre charge. Extensive tour, Sunrise and Archaeological (two in one) with enough time and flexibility, excellent for photographers. Hassle free entry fees, those are not included because price varies according to nationality and age, but available in advance, we pay those for you, then you reimburse our guide during the service. Excellent English-Spanish bilingual guide with deep knowledge of local history, flora and fauna and with service attitude to give a meaning to each monument visited. We will walk approximately 6 to 8 kilometers during this tour, but not consecutively. The longest walk between two stops is approximately 20 minutes. Bring your camera! We love taking photos, we will show you the best spots.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The activity begins when we pick you up at your hotel, when booking, please choose the time according to the location of your hotel. In case you don't know the location of your hotel yet, just book the cheapest tour option, later you let us know your hotel location and if there is a price difference, you can pay it to our guide. The walking tour begins at Gate 2 of Tikal National Park at: From March 22 to September 21: at 4:00 am From September 22 to March 21: at 4:30 am DURATION OF EACH WAY OF TRANSFER BY LOCATION WHERE WE PICK YOU UP a. Tikal: 00h: 05m b. El Remate: 01h: 00m c. San Jose, Peten: 01h:20m d. San Benito, Santa Elena Flores or Flores Island: 01h: 30m e. San Andres: 02h: 00m Tikal has two titles of UNESCO, it's cultural and natural heritage of humanity, that's why we'll spend more than six hours exploring different archeological monuments and to go from monument to monument, we'll use nature trails with a high chance of spotting some species of wildlife.
First thing, we will climb this temple with you to wait for sunrise from the top, enjoying the most wonderful view and the sounds of the waking up wildlife, then we will have breakfast up there. We developed the sunrise tour because our guests deserve to see Tikal first thing in the morning to appreciate wildlife when it is more active as well as at the end of the day. The main attraction of this tour is the awakening of the jungle with the noise of birds and howler monkeys, the sunrise is seen only 20% of the time, as it is usually cloudy or foggy. The official name of this temple is Temple of the Double Headed Serpent, as when the temple was discovered, it had a wooden carved lintel with the sacred double headed serpent carved on it, now this wooden carving is in a famous museum. The nickname of this temple is Temple of Star Wars as back in 1977 the movie director George Lucas came to Tikal to film part of the original Star Wars Movie, Episode IV "A New Hope"
This complex was used as a Royal Cemetery for the kings and queens of Tikal, it's compared with an onion, because of the multiple layers of interesting architecture it revealed, in some of these layers we can see the masks of the rain god and the sun god. The guide communicates efficiently with all guests. During the tour, the guide accompanies you to climb the monuments to explain the most important details while you are above the monuments. We take you to the best spots to take pictures at the right times, this is ideal for photographers and we'll see many Mayan structures.
The Great Plaza is the place in Tikal with the largest amount of energy, it's also the most restaured complex of this mayan site, it has multiple stelae, some of them with carving showing the portrait of some kings of the city. This complex was excavated back in 1960's by the Museum of University of Pensinvania.
We'll explore this complex with you, it was built as the residential area of the royal family of Tikal, it has 6 courtyards, 3 of them have been restored, this complex was also probably the place to host to all the royal visitors that came to Tikal from other mesoamerican cities for diplomatic reasons. It has a palace with 5 floors and some of the lintels on the doors of this palace are still the original wooden lintels placed by the people who built it about 14 centuries ago and the wood is still in good shape.
We'll climb this temple with you and enjoy the best view of the Great Plaza, looking at the masks carved on top of this temple. The view from this temple is a great chance to take a picture of Temple I, North Acropolis and the Great Plaza.
We will walk around the most iconic monument of Tikal taking pictures of it from different angles. The official name of this temple is Temple of the Great Jaguar because when the temple was discovered, it's original wooden lintel has a Great Jaguar carved on it, now, that beautiful carving in wood is in a famous museum. Back in 1960's when archeologist excavated this temple, they found underneath this temple, the greatest treasure ever found in Tikal, it was the burial of Hasaw Chaan K'awil, the most famous king of the dynasty of Tikal, the jewelry over the skeleton of the king included 16.5 pounds of jade jewels.
The walking tour ends at Gate 2 of Tikal National Park at 10:30 am and we offer you a hot meal and a cold drink at the Jaguar Inn Restaurant, after eating you can walk around the visitor center to see more wildlife, visit the scale model or buy souvenirs. The activity ends when we drop you off at the location we picked you up, or it can be to a different location, but for this, you need to let us know in advance. This tour is ideal for passengers flying from Flores Airport (FRS) that afternoon on the flight: TAG 5U131 leaving to Guatemala City at 14:15
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
When booking, please make sure you pick the right price option according to the desired pickup location. We pick up from the door of any hotel or Airbnb in Flores, Tikal, El Remate, Santa Elena, San Benito, San Andres and San Jose Peten. Guests staying in San Miguel must come by boat to Raices Restaurant in Flores Island for pick up.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Seat belts available
- If you are the only adult in your group and you pick a small group option and at least one more adult reserves for that same schedule, we’ll include the cost of the entry fees for you, which reduces the price for USD34.
- Bring the best walking shoes
- Bring a raincoat just in case
- Bring the best clothes for hot weather
- Bring a flashlight (or you can use your phone's flashlight)
- Bring a canteen or bottle to refill water
- If you have a Guatemalan local ID (DPI) send us a picture of it, in this event your entry fees will be only USD7
Reviews(365)
Best guide we’ve ever had and in a fascinating place! Jose was knowledgeable, kind., friendly and savvy. He led us throughout the park while trying to avoid crowds. Many times we were alone and there were a lot of people in the park, which was difficult to do. Jose knew the names of every tree, insect and mammal and could even identify each bird by their call. He tailored the tour to our interests. As he got to know us better he would switch things up so that we would get more out of our visit. He also fed us quite well - breakfast complete with hot chocolate and coffee before we set off and he fed us snacks after we watched the sun rise. He checked in with us on practical matters along the way like bathroom breaks, sunscreen, bug spray, water, etc. Our lunch stop was well selected. We’ve never been so well taken care of. If you do only one thing in Guatemala, please do this tour!
José gave us a spectacular tour of Tikal! Highly recommend. Very well organized, great breakfast and lunch in addition. We learned so much and saw amazing wildlife and were so lucky to visit Tikal.
Very clear and concise communication from the company, provided guidance on buying our tickets ahead of time and picked us up at an ideal time to get to the park to beat the lines. We had a private tour with Jose and it was one of the highlights of our whole trip to Guatemala. He was so knowledgeable about both Tikal and the wildlife, and expertly navigated around the crowds for a truly individualized experience. As other reviews mention we didn’t see sunrise but watching the dense fog roll in and listening to the animals wake up was such a unique experience that I highly recommend!
Did the sunrise tour it was amazing seeing the sun come up over the temples. Well worth the early morning wake-up and experience. The tour was informative and interesting and we learned a lot about the Mayan culture and the timeline for how the different structures were built. The breakfast was perfect with hot coffee and a biscuit and banana to start before hiking up to see the sunrise from on the temples. With breakfast of fruit, a tortilla with beans in it and an egg as the sun rose and brought the temples into view. A very magical and surreal experience. We managed to climb the majority of the temples that were available to climb and saw most of the structures that had been uncovered. This is an area that will continue to evolve over time as more and more structures are worked on and restored. It is somewhere worth returning again and again as more is done. I was delighted to get to experience it with my partner and share the experience with them. Thank you for this amazing opportunity to see this magical place.
It was an absolutely amazing tour. Our guide Marlon was the best guide we could’ve asked for. Especially for those who are truly interested in TiKal, Marlon keeps you very informed. He answered all our questions and toured us everywhere! He also spotted multiple animals during the tour which made it extra special. 100% recommended.
The sunrise tour led by Jose was a once in a lifetime type of experience. Hearing the jungle wake up with the sunrise was truly spectacular. Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly and we had a great time
We really enjoyed our sunrise hike with Marlon. He was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the topic. He also found ways to engage my daughter throughout the tour. Definitely, one of our top tours.
A brilliant tour! My guide, Marlon, was kind and attentive and extremely knowledgeable about the archaeology, history, plants and animals, and above all the Mayan culture. I felt looked after from beginning to end. Highly recommended.
OMG I can't say enough wonderful things about this tour and about Marlon. He took such good care of us -- picked us up, fed us several times, walked us through the site and shared all his wonderful knowledge. He also has an amazing eye for birds and animals and helped us see so many fascinating creatures. He has got to be the best guide for Tikal!
Our tour with Marlon began with timely communication which is vitally important for me. He took care of us beginning with offering coffee, hot chocolate and Guatemalan cookies, and more authentic food throughout the trip. He asked us what kind of pace we wanted to walk at and honored that. His knowledge is extensive yet he did not overwhelm us with facts. He showed us toucans, spider and howler monkeys and made our tour very special.
