Print   Close

Remote El Mirador Eclipses Tikal!

By Lisbeth Holt, Mayatour

Now you can experience the ultimate thrill of El Mirador Maya site as a day tour by helicopter.  This seemingly supernatural Maya site, has been near impossible to visit until now!  Situated in the remotest regions of jungle in northeastern Guatemala, it was previously accessible via an arduous overland trek of several days undertaken only by those with the utmost determination. And now the helicopters are here!  Whisked into this parallel universe, your quest for the untrammeled and truly unforgettable can be fulfilled.  

Once the very center of the Maya universe, built by those with an exceedingly brilliant vision inspired by their fearsome gods, massive El Mirador reigned in the Preclassic era, 200 BC - AD 150.  It rightfully claims the superlatives of the oldest Maya capital city, the largest, with some of the tallest structures, and the most remote, exotic and mysterious of all Maya World sites!  Even magnificent Tikal is eclipsed by El Mirador!  Like a galactic diamond in the rough, its unsurpassed dimensions will leave you awestruck.

Rediscovered in 1926, this vast sophisticated metropolis of limestone temple pyramids predates all other major Mayan sites.  Wonderful new technology and conservation strategies have been employed recently to preserve and maintain these ancient sites.  Travelers are now fortunate to experience these treasures of Preclassic art and architecture. The monumental giants stand in predominantly triadic designs.  The El Tigre Complex bears the principal pyramid El Tigre, one of the tallest pyramids found in the Maya World at 197 feet, with two smaller structures which face each other, all stairs leading from the central plaza.  Huge stucco masks of deities flank stairways; some bear the likeness of a great bird deity.

From the summit of these astounding structures, you can see the towering temples of neighboring sites for miles around above the sea of the encroaching jungle.  The La Danta pyramid, constructed on a higher elevation than El Tigre, allows an even better "lookout" in all directions, and the views are truly spectacular.  You can view Calakmul, Nakbe, and other sites like satellites in this firmament.  What an inspiring testament to the phenomenal skills of the rulers, priests, astronomers, architects, engineers, artists and laborers who lived here over two thousand years ago!

The sacred nucleus is the Central Acropolis where the bodies of priests and noblemen have been unearthed from their burial chambers, surrounded by instruments used in their bloodletting ceremonies, the obsidian lancets and stingray spines.  The spilling of blood was a solemn ritual in which they appealed to their gods for sustenance.

Here you can view the Monos Complex named in homage to the howler monkeys who haunt this fabulous metropolis, as well as the Leon Pyramid and Casabel Complex and the Danta (Tapir) Complex, all united by a network of causeways (sacbeob).  At its zenith, an estimated 80,000 Maya resided here.

This is no fantasy played out on a screen, but awesome reality on a scale only brave imaginations dared to shape into actuality. What great dynasty flowered here, now preserved  in the tightly laced cocoon of jungle growth?  What amazing treasures will be uncovered one future day?   What we can see before us today as we scale El Tigre to its summit is so fabulous, its hidden treasures only add to its mystique.  Our curiosity is peaked, our imaginations stirred, our minds and emotions become alive, molecules dancing!  We become more like what we see:  an eternal mystery which cannot be fully revealed.  It is the quest, the journey, the obscure treasure map, which excites, enlivens, enchants, elevates: an evolution of our hearts and minds! Perhaps it is not so much that you discover El Mirador, but that El Mirador discovers you!   Suddenly your realize the best things in life cannot be bought.