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central america: guatemala

Maya Heritage & Calendar Tour 2012

Day 1 - SAT - Arrive Guatemala City

The Maya Heritage and Calendar 2012 Tour begins in Guatemala City. Meet at Guatemala City International Airport and transfer to your hotel in Guatemala City's finest district. Overnight in Guatemala City.

Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Hotel
Included Meals: n/a

Day 2 - SUN - Copan, Honduras

Morning transfer to Copan in Honduras. Visit Copan's famous Archaeological Site. An UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980, Copan was the southernmost major center of lowland Maya civilization and is famed for its artistic sculpture. The great Hieroglyphic Stairway was dedicated in 755 and it bears a continuous text of more than 1250 glyph blocks listing dates and names of the city's Classic Period rulers. Because of its beautiful artwork, unsurpassed in any other Maya city, Copan occupies a special place in the study of the ancient Maya. Visit Copan’s Museum of Maya Sculpture which contains some of the finest examples of Maya sculpture ever found. Dominating the center of the museum is a full-scale brightly colored replica of the Rosalila Temple which was completed in 571. The ball courts are the playing grounds of an extremely serious sport to the Mayans. These games are believed to have had religious significance: the captain of one team was sacrificed to the gods. Overnight in Copan Town.

Accommodations: Hotel Marina Copan
Included Meals: breakfast and lunch

Day 3 - MON - Quirigua, Guatemala

Transfer to Guatemala’s Caribbean coastal plains, visiting Quirigua en route, an UNESCO World Heritage Archaeological Site since 1981. This strategically located river city of the Classic Period links the Caribbean coast with interior settlements. Remarkably preserved portraits and texts on sandstone stele record a ruling dynasty in competition with nearby Copan. In 738 the ruler Kak Tiliw captured and beheaded Copan's 13th lord. Quirigua is home to the largest stele in the Maya World at 26 feet and 6 inches in height and weighting about 65 tons. After exploring this historical place, overnight in Flores.

Accommodations: Camino Real Tikal Hotel
Included Meals: breakfast

Day 4 - TUE - Tikal, Guatemala

Tikal is the third UNESCO’s World Heritage Site of the itinerary and the first one in the Maya World, since 1979. Intensive construction took place at Tikal from the late Pre-classic Period until the waning of Classic Maya civilization around AD 900. At its peak, the city covered about 48 square miles and had a population estimated at 55,000. Tikal's Stelae 29 bears the earliest Long Count date known in the Maya lowlands. In 292 AD Temple IV, one of the many pyramids erected to memorialize the dead rulers of Tikal's royal dynasty, and one of the tallest of Maya structures at 212 feet, was erected.

Accommodations: Camino Real Tikal Hotel
Included Meals: breakfast and lunch

Day 5 - WED - Yaxha & Topoxte, Guatemala

Depart early to visit the Yaxha Archaeological Site, the only Maya Classic Site whose name is the same as its emblem glyph, well known for having large concentration of massive buildings and with defined avenues and causeways. Its location, on the shore of a lake and within the Maya Biosphere Reserve, makes it unique. This visit includes Topoxte, one of the few post-Classic sites in the Peten and it can be reached by boat ride in the Yaxha Lake. Later this afternoon, transfer to Palenque where you will overnight.

Accommodations: Villas Kin-Ha Hotel
Included Meals: breakfast and lunch

Day 6 - THR - Palenque, Mexico

Today we visit Palenque Archaeological Site. Another UNESCO World Heritage Site, Palenque is prized for its well-preserved buildings, carved stucco ornamentation, delicate bas-reliefs and lengthy hieroglyphic texts. Palenque reached its zenith during the reign of Pacal the Great (AD 615-683). His tomb in the Temple of the Inscriptions opened in 1952 and stands as one of the greatest discoveries of Mayan archaeology. At the end of the visit, transfer to Valle Escondido Lodge for overnight, to be closer to the following days’ visits.

Accommodations: Valle Escondido Lodge
Included Meals: breakfast and lunch

Day 7 - FRI - Yaxchilan & Bonampak, Mexico

Wake and transfer to Bonampak Site where the main structures are situated around a rectangular plaza. The southern buildings are well preserved. The "Templo de los Frescos" contains three rooms covered with paintings depicting ancient Maya ceremonies and customs. Transfer to the Usumacinta River and after a brief boat ride on the river, visit Yaxchilan. Set above the jungle banks of the river, Yaxchilan was first inhabited around 200 AD and the central plaza holds statues of jaguars and crocodiles. Adventurous travelers will want to climb Yaxchilan's highest temple as the view of the Rio Usumacinta and surrounding jungle is magnificent. Enjoy an afternoon boat ride to Frontera Corozal Town to end this day with a transfer to Flores Airport for flight to Guatemala City. Meet at the airport and transfer to hotel in Antigua.

Accommodations: Posada Don Rodrigo Hotel, Antigua
Included Meals: breakfast and lunch

Day 8 - SAT - Antigua, Guatemala

Antigua is an UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the incredibly preserved Spanish Colonial heritage. Founded in 1542, it was for over 200 years the Capital of Central America. Enjoy a morning visit to its most important palaces, plazas, churches and convents with a free afternoon to explore as you please.

Accommodations: Posada Don Rodrigo Hotel, Antigua
Included Meals: breakfast and lunch

Day 9 - SUN - Chichicastenango, Guatemala

Depart early to Chichicastenango which is by far the largest and most colorful handicrafts market in The Americas. Every Thursday and Sunday, Maya people from all over Guatemala, meet to sell their products and visit the town’s Catholic Church, Santo Tomas, to pray in their own way becoming the best example of syncretism of the Maya and Catholic traditions. Overnight in Panajachel by Lake Atitlan.

Accommodations: Posada Don Rodrigo Hotel
Included Meals: breakfast and lunch

Day 10 - MON - Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

In the heart of the Living Maya peoples, Lake Atitlan is an interesting geological formation, located at 5,000 feet above sea level and surrounded by 3 imposing volcanoes and in the heart of the Living Maya culture. Take a boat tour to visit Santiago Atitlan, a town famous for naïf paintings and wood carvings. Also famous for a pagan saint that is worshiped at a local shaman’s home. This afternoon, transfer to Antigua for overnight.

Accommodations: Posada Don Rodrigo Hotel, Antigua
Included Meals: breakfast and lunch

Day 11 - TUE - Depart, Guatemala City

After breakfast, transfer to Guatemala City International Airport for flights home.

Accommodations: n/a
Included Meals: breakfast

For additional information and reservations, please contact us:

800-728-2875 | 530-583-1775 | fax 530-583-1711 | travel@AdventureSmithExplorations.com