maya ruins
Our
first Mayan ruin tour is of Nim Li Punit located 25 miles north of Punta
Gorda Town atop a ridge in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. Discovered
in 1976, preliminary excavations at this ceremonial center indicate it
was important during the late classic period. There are 25 stelae found
at the site; at least eight are carved. One remains the tallest carved
stele in Belize at 9 meters tall.
Our second tour is to Xunantunich, located only 8 miles west
of San Ignacio. It was the first major Maya ruin in Belize to be
excavated and in 1954 was the first made available to the public.
It now houses a well regarded on-site museum. Visitors cross the river on a
ferry. Most tours of the Cayo District include a visit to Xunantunich.
Xunantunich is believed
to have been built sometime during 150-900 A.D. It contains
six ceremonial plazas surrounded by small house mounds.
Our third package is a
two day tour to Tikal in Guatemala with an overnight stay in
San Ignacio. Located in the first National Park in Central
America about 50 northwest of the Belize border, Tikal is the
most extensive of all Mayan ruins. Once a city of more than
100,000 Maya, today Tikal extends over six square miles and
has over 3000 ancient structures including temples, ceremonial
platforms, ball courts, palaces, terraces, plazas, and steam
baths. Tikal National Park is also remarkable for it’s natural
setting, diverse vegetation, tropical flowers and abundant
wildlife. Visitors can see howler monkeys, toucans, scarlet
macaws, parrots, brocket
deer, white lipped peccary, coati-mundis, ocelots and on rare occasions, jaguar. This
combination of archeological and natural riches is why Tikal is the
only location in the world which has been declared both a
Natural Heritage for Humanity Site and Cultural Heritage for Humanity Site
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The
following links have more information on these locations:
Nim
Li Punit (Belize Virtual Guide)
Xunantunich (Belize
Virtual Guide)
Xunantunich
(Belize Report)
Xunantunich
(Belize by Naturalight)
Xunantunich
(Belize Explorer)
Tikal (Belize Explorer)
Tikal (destination360.com)
| mayan ruins tours |
Nim
Li Punit
includes: tax, lunch, guided transportation |
Xunantunich
includes: tax, guided transportation and tour, entrance fees and guide |
Tikal
includes: tax, round trip guided transportation to Tikal, Guatemalan Visa, Tikal
entrance fees, guided tour of Tikal, lunch, and overnight lodging at Tikal.
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