This morning, after an early breakfast, you'll depart for the three-hour drive to the magnificent Tikal ruins, just across the border in Guatemala. Tikal's towering pyramids rise above the thick jungle canopy like stoic sentinels of ancient mysteries. The ancient Maya began building this city around 600 B.C., and for the next 1,500 years the area was an important religious, scientific, and political center. Pyramids were built to honor dead kings, administrative buildings rose, storage houses appeared, and houses for royalty were carved out of the jungle. Tikal became one of the greatest centers of Maya culture and sprawled over 46 square miles with more than 4,000 structures in the main city center alone. Today, the pristine forest engulfing the ruined city is home to howler and spider monkeys, white-lipped peccaries, brocket deer, coatimundis, toucans, scarlet macaws, parrots, ocelots, and the seldom seen jaguar. After a tour of the ruins, you will return to your lodge in Belize for your last night in the jungle.
