Petén
From Wikitravel
Contents
El Petén is the biggest and northernmost department of Guatemala.
Besides providing its visitors with a multi facetted nature, it compells through its diversity of mayan sites being contructed acoording to a distinct syle ("El Estilo Petén").
[edit] Regions
[edit] Cities
- Flores – this island town is the hub of the region, with an airport nearby and connections to the rest of the area
- Melchor de Mencos – small town and the only land border crossing to Belize
[edit] Other destinations
- Classic Maya ruins at Tikal.
- Pre-Classic site El Mirador.
- Nakbé
- El Remate – a sleepy town on the east side of Lake Peten Itza
- El Seibal
- Uaxactún to the norte of Tikal.
- Waká, AKA El Peru.
- Yaxhá, between Flores and Melchor de Mencos. Site of Survivor episodes.
[edit] Understand
[edit] Talk
[edit] Get in
Don't skimp on long distance bus rides. Chicken buses are fun for a short time, but most will not want to spend a long time on them.
The route via Poptun is served by two "luxury" bus companies, Linea Doradaand Autobuses del Norte. Note that Linea Dorada's website claims are not borne out by facts and ADN advertises having "First Class Bonus". The advantage of this route is that you can go overnight and not become jaded by slash and burn agriculture for hours.
The route via Coban takes about 12 hours on buses, as opposed to the 10 or so via the other route, but it is more scenic. Plus, though you have to change buses in Coban, that is a destination in its own right. You would start out from Guate on Monja Blanca and switch to a minivan in Coban.
[edit] Get around
[edit][add listing] See
Petèn bears hundreds of Mayan excavation sites, most of which are definetly worth visiting. Unfortunatly the majority of tourists is only suggested to visit "Tikal", the most famous site of the Mayan culture, disregarding the other Mayan jewels in the jungle. For curious adventurers however, untouched archaeological sites in the old-growth forests are waiting to be explored. Hidden ruins being especially worth visiting include Holmul, La Honradez, Chochkitan, Kinal, Xultun, Dos Aguadas and Rio Azul. Even though their magnitude is comparable to Tikal, the yearly visitor number at these sites only reaches an average of 20 persons. The quality of the streets to these targets leaves a lot to be desired. Therefore it is advisable to undertake these kind of trips only during dry season (February until June). Travellers rather being interested in more extensively explored and restaurated sites, but still trying to stay away from mass tourism are advised to visit San Clemente, La Blanca und Nakum (providing for the greatest Palace Acropolis of the Mayan World).
[edit][add listing] Do
[edit][add listing] Eat
[edit][add listing] Sleep
Stay at the Jaguar Inn Hotel, Flores Petén. The hotel is located inside the National Park, so you don't have to travel to and from Flores city center. The hotel has nice typical Guatemalan breakfast (beans). At night, the lights and electricity is unavailable at around 6pm. The only thing is that, hot water is unavailable. You can listen to the sounds of the animals at night.
[edit][add listing] Drink
Two good beers in Guatemala are Gallo, and Moza (which is a sweet-extrabody beer).
In most of the restaurants there are also fruit, smoothy type drinks called Liquiados, that come in a variety of fruits, and are made from fresh fruits.
[edit] Stay safe
Always stay on the beaten path, and stay with a group. Don't wander off, stay alert, and try your best to blend in and not draw too much attention to yourself.
[edit] Get out
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