Jungle Kingdoms of the Ancient Maya

ITINERARY
(B)= Breakfast, (L)= Lunch, (D)= Dinner

Friday, February 16, 2024: Depart home for Villahermosa, Mexico
Depart home for Villahermosa International Airport (VSA) where, if traveling on the suggested flight, you will be met upon arrival at the airport and transferred to our hotel. For those arriving independently, a taxi can be hired for the short drive into town. Overnight at the 4-star Hyatt Regency Villahermosa for two nights.

Saturday, February 17: Comalcalco | Introductory lecture | Welcome dinner
Set out for Comalcalco, the westernmost known Maya site, and the only Maya city built with bricks of baked clay instead of stone. The site comprises the North Square, Great Acropolis, and Acropolis of the East, and it thrived as an agricultural center specializing in cacao (the seeds from which cocoa, cocoa butter, and chocolate are made). After lunch we return to our hotel and have some time at leisure before gathering for an introductory lecture and our welcome dinner. (B,L,D)

Sunday, February 18: La Venta Park | Palenque
Visit La Venta Park to see a magnificent outdoor collection of stone sculpture that originally came from the Olmec site of La Venta. The Olmec were one of the earliest cultures in Mesoamerica, preceding the Maya by centuries. Their monumental stone carvings and strange mythological beings puzzle archaeologists to this day. After lunch, drive to Palenque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the great western capitals of classic Maya civilization that some have called “the Paris of the Maya.” We will check-in to our charming hotel and have time for relaxation, exploring the surrounding lush forest, and swimming in the unusual pool. Overnight at the 3-star Chan-Kah Resort Village for two nights. (B,L,D)

Monday, February 19: Palenque | Jungle trail walk | PM at leisure
Explore Palenque’s many exquisite examples of 7th- and 8th-century Maya architecture, including the Temple of the Inscriptions, Palace, Temples of the Cross Group, and much more. We finish the morning walking a beautiful downhill jungle trail, across waterfalls and hidden ruins, to get a true sense of the rainforest and all its beauty. After lunch at an outdoor, palm thatch restaurant we return to our hotel for an afternoon at leisure, perhaps to stroll around the resort grounds, do some hiking, take a swim, or relax on our bungalows’ individual verandas, before gathering for dinner. (B,L,D)

Tuesday, February 20: Palenque site museum | Bonampak | Frontera Corozal
This morning we visit the Palenque site museum, with many world famous pieces of Maya ceramics, jades, and stone carving. Lunch today will be in a rustic jungle restaurant before visiting Bonampak. The discovery of the painted murals at Bonampak in the 1950s changed the way the world saw the Maya. Although the murals are faded and difficult to view, they remain a sight to see. The site is run by Lacandon Maya, and we may get a chance to interact with them during our visit. Continue on to Frontera Corozal, a Chol Maya community on the banks of the Usumacinta River, the famous “river of ruins.” Along its banks, classic Maya civilization built some of its grandest cities. We are now traveling deep into the heart of Maya country, and we will stay at a remote, rustic jungle lodge. Overnight at Escudo Jaguar Lodge for two nights. (B,L,D)

Wednesday, February 21: Yaxchilán
After breakfast, travel by small boat down the Usumacinta River to the great classic Maya site of Yaxchilán, whose high-crested temples and palaces climb the steep hills above a large plaza upon a terrace by the river. We will spend all day at this fantastic site, enjoying a picnic lunch under the forest canopy. Beautiful monolithic stelae (standing stone monuments) and lintels spanning the temple doorways display intricate reliefs. Howler and spider monkeys and many tropical birds may accompany us as we explore the steep jungle trails, climbing to the higher elevations overlooking the ancient Maya landscape. We return by boat to our lodge late this afternoon. (B,L,D)

Thursday, February 22: Tikal, Guatemala
Journey upriver and cross over into the heart of Guatemala, to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Tikal. As with most Maya sites, Classic Period constructions cover those from earlier times, and ancient structures are scattered for miles in every direction from its center. Overnight at the 4-star Jungle Lodge Hotel for three nights. (B,L,D)

Friday, February 23: Tikal
Spend a full day at Tikal, which contains thousands of ancient structures, the majority of which remain unexcavated. This vast site has spectacular pyramids, numerous plazas, a sprawling main palace and several lesser royal residences, multiple ball courts, causeways, dozens of stelae, and much more. It is estimated that more than 50,000 people lived at Tikal in its heyday, and the story of the city and its rise and fall mirrors the larger story of Maya civilization itself. Following the glories of the Classic Period, the site was largely abandoned by A.D. 900. (B,L,D)

Saturday, February 24: Optional pre-dawn hike | Tikal site museums | PM at leisure OR Optional excursion to Yaxhá
Today is a day to relax and re-charge after eight busy days. However, for the energetic (and weather permitting), there will be an optional, pre-dawn hike up the steep steps of Tikal’s Temple IV—the site’s tallest pyramid at 230 feet, and the largest Maya shrine built in the 8th century. Being a dense rainforest there could be fog but, if not, we may enjoy breathtaking sunrise views from the top. After breakfast, we will visit two small Tikal site museums and then enjoy the rest of day at leisure, until we gather for dinner. Instead of this time at leisure, you have the option to join our leaders on a 1.5-hour drive to Yaxhá, a large and important ancient Maya site that is infrequently visited. Located in dense jungle on a ridge overlooking turquoise Lake Yaxhá, the vast site includes numerous altars and stelae, nine temple pyramids, and two ball courts. Boxed lunches will be enjoyed at the site. (B,L,D)

Sunday, February 25: Southeastern Petén Regional Museum, Dolores | Rio Dulce
Depart Tikal for Rio Dulce, stopping along the way to visit the Southeastern Petén Regional Museum, in the town of Dolores, with a significant collection of Classic Maya artifacts. Arrive in Rio Dulce where we enjoy a late lunch and get an overview of the area, including viewing a 17^th-century Spanish fortress, the Castle of San Felipe de Lara, located where the river meets Lake Izabal. Late this afternoon, we check-in to our waterside hotel. Overnight at the 3-star Hotel Catamaran. (B,L,D)

Monday, February 26: Quiriguá | Motagua Valley | Paleontology and Archaeology Museum, Estanzuela | Copán, Honduras
After a short boat ride, continue to Quiriguá, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the tallest Maya stelae—one weighs 65 tons and is 35 feet above ground and eight feet underground. Sculpture here is like no other place, with spectacular cosmograms in the likeness of divine crocodiles and jaguars carved in the round from huge boulders. Here we also find a rare description of mythical events which took place at the origin of the calendar Great Cycle that ended in 2012. After leaving Quiriguá, we have lunch in the Motagua Valley, the primary jade source for all of Mesoamerica; and stop in Estanzuela to visit the small Roberto Wookfolk Saravia Paleontology and Archaeology Museum. Continue on, crossing the border into Honduras, and check-in to our hotel. Overnight at the 4-star Hotel Marina Copán for two nights. (B,L,D)

Tuesday, February 27: Copán
A short drive brings us to the archaeological site of Copán, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known as Hux Wintik (translation uncertain). If Palenque was the “Paris of the Maya,” then Copán was the “Athens of the Maya.” The magnificent acropolis, plazas, courtyards, and standing sculptures are the hallmarks of this southernmost Maya capital. Enjoy a splendid picnic lunch at the site and then visit the excellent site museum, which has a full-scale replica of the funeral shrine of the founder of the Copán dynasty and many fabulous pieces of Maya sculpture. Dinner is on your own this evening in Copán; restaurant suggestions will be available from your tour manager. (B,L)

Wednesday, February 28: Sepulturas Group  | San Pedro Sula | Farewell dinner
Tour the Sepulturas Group, located a few miles from the site of Copán, which also housed a residential area for non-Maya (perhaps foreign merchants) around A.D. 800. We have now traveled from the western capital of Palenque, through the heartland at Tikal, and on to the southern capital of Copán, giving us a sense of the enormity of ancient Maya civilization in its heyday. After lunch at a local restaurant, drive to San Pedro Sula, where we check-in to our hotel, get settled, and then gather for a farewell dinner. Overnight at the 5-star Hilton Princess San Pedro Sula. (B,L,D)

Thursday, February 29: Fly home
Transfer to the airport in San Pedro Sula (SAP), Honduras, for flights home. (B)