Tikal
We'd been to Chichen Itza a few years back and really enjoyed it. I knew nothing about Maya history then, but even stumbling ignorantly through ruins left me with a feeling of awe for this seemingly mysterious culture. When we decided upon Guatemala for our destination this year, the ruins at Tikal were among the deciding factors. And determined to not be ignorant as I stumbled through this ancient city, I read just about every book and bought every map I could on Tikal.
And even with my assiduous prep, Tikal was overwhelming. Both the geographic and chronological scales are far beyond Chichen Itza, a comparatively small and short-lived Maya city.
We stayed for two nights: arriving in the afternoon on the first day to take advantage of the free entrance after 15:00, and departing noonish on the third. This gave us about 20 hours of walking-through-the-ruins time. And although we did manage to see most everything that can be seen, it felt rushed.
In addition to the scale, Tikal differs from other Maya sites because it's smack in the jungle. Guatemala established a national park to protect Tikal's wildlife, as well as its archeology. So you got your spider monkeys, your coati mundi -- even more creatures than we saw on our Mirador trek. At sunrise you'll hear the howler monkeys and at sunset you'll see the pairs of parrots flying through the treetops.
So go if you can. And stay at least one night, if not two. Oh you'll be overwhelmed, too. But if have a chance to experience a sunset and a morning, you'll see the beauty as well as the scale.
