Mayan Civilisation : Eyewitness Travel

'If you like your Mayan sites tame and manageable, Mexico's Chichen Itza fits the bill, but if you prefer your ruins living, breathing and vertigo-inducing, it has to be Tikal'

If Tikal were a volcano, it would be on perpetual amber alert. You tell yourself that nothing's going to happen whilst you're there, but then again, once there, suddenly you're not so sure. Perhaps it's incessant chattering, rustling wildlife or the feeling that the on-site archaeologists are on the verge of unearthing something spectacular, but this ancient site has the air of a place about to rumble into action at any moment. Whereas better known Chichen Itza can feel a little like a historical theme park, Tikal's winding jungle pathways and remote location combine with its sheer scale to devastating hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck effect.
At one time the epicentre of the Mayan Civilisation, the city of Tikal dominated Mesoamerica in the 6th Century AD, during the region's late classic period. The most impressive of Tikal's structures are its six huge stone step pyramids, known as Temples I-VI, some of which tower over 61m (200ft) above the humble tourist. Yet the majesty of Tikal is apparent wherever you are, whether you are craning your neck upwards, peering giddily downwards, or gazing across the Plaza Mayor at the temple tops rising above the rainforest canopy.
Much of Tikal remains unexcavated, unlike Chichen Itza, which was fully cleared in the 1930s and is all the catalogued, on a plate. Tikal leaves much more to the imagination - its ancient ruins are always keeping something back, whether shrouded in dawn mist or covered in tropical foliage. And when you've found yourself a spot in which to sit and take it all in, Tikal allows you to believe that if you closed your eyes and drifted into a daydream, you might open them again too find yourself in the midst of a Mayan ceremony; an ancient ball game, perhaps, or a shamanic ritual. It's almost as though the Maya had downed tools and left this, their largest city, just hours before your arrival.
While Chichen Itza has played home to concerts, Tikal has played host to sacred rituals and traditions since the 1990s. During modern Mayan ceremonies, huge fires are lit in Plaza Mayor, and the spirits are recalled to this once powerful citadel, which to this day, although ruined, is far from being spoilt