Itinerary
Day 1
Very early, around 4:30 a.m. we will look for you in your hotel, to move to our office, located in Calle Centroamérica Poniente de Flores, Petén, to receive a brief orientation about the expedition and to organize the luggage of the trip.
Later we will travel to the community of Carmelita, for 3.5 hours, to enter the Jungle. If you do not want to get up early, we offer you the option to travel a day before and stay at the Hotel Carmelita.
Once you arrive in Carmelita, the Logistics Manager will welcome you and you will meet the expedition team including the community guide, the muleteers, as well as the community cooks. You will taste a breakfast in our community canteens. Then, we will start the walk towards El Tintal archaeological site.
We will walk for three hours and we will have lunch in El Guacute or a href=”/en/highlights/la-florida/”>La Florida rest area, depending on the time of year. We will continue into the forest for three more hours until we reach El Tintal base camp.
Once the night starts coming, if your energies allow you, you can climb the El Henequén Pyramid – from its top you will have a 360º view and you will appreciate El Mirador in the distance, while you enjoy the unique landscape.
In the base camp of El Tintal you can rest from the day and refresh yourself, as we have restrooms, showers and a kitchen and dining area. We will sleep in camping houses with mattresses and sheets.
Day 2
Very early in the morning we will have a local breakfast and we will continue exploring, we will walk for two hours and we will take a break in El Arroyón. Then we will advance two more hours right to the resting area El Jabalí, where we will have lunch and recover energies. In the afternoon, we will arrive at La Muerta, a satellite city of El Mirador, where you will observe the oldest Emblem glyph of this Mayan region, traced in the parent rock.
Then we will return to the trail for another 45 minutes to reach the city of El Mirador.
Optional: Enjoy the sunset at the El Tigre pyramid.
Dinner and time to share stories of the jungle and Mayan mythology with the local guides. Night at El Mirador.
Day 3
We will have an energetic breakfast and then we will visit the Central Acropolis to know the history of El Mirador and we will observe the Mayan mythology of the aquatic underworld just as the Sacred Book from the Popol-Wuj, tells us, so we will learn about the twin heroes and their relationship with the natural world.
Then, we will arrive at El Tigre Complex to admire one of the monuments exposed to the public with enormous masks that demonstrate a Jaguar-Solar deity (Kinich Ajau) and we will cross the Astronomical Commemoration Center where the Mayans recorded the equinoxes and solstices, which were key elements of the Mayan calendar and its agricultural life.
We return to the camp for lunch and after a break we will move to La Danta Complex, the largest construction in Mesoamerica, to experience the most important moment of our expedition by observing the sunset from the top of the Mayan world. Night will be at El Mirador.
Day 4
We have breakfast at El Mirador and then we start the trek through Sacbés (or Mayan roads) that connect La Danta Complex with the ancient city of Nakbé. During the trip, we will observe the inhabitants of the tropical forest who are trogons and butterflies, among others.
After two hours of walking, we will take a break and a snack, then continue the expedition until we reach Nakbé. After lunch, we will set up camp and make a tour through the Codex Group where we will observe a housing complex and the quarry area abandoned due to a possible invasion of the city, these quarries were limestone mines where the Mayans gave shape to huge blocks to build their temples and buildings.
In Nakbé we will visit one of the largest chultunes, which are artificial excavations made by the Mayans in limestone rock and were used for ceremonial purposes and to store their grains. Later, we will go to the Juegos de Pelota (Ball Games) of the city and to end the day in the Central Plaza of Nakbé built 2817 years ago, from where we will appreciate one of the best sunsets in the Mayan World. Night in Nakbé.
Day 5
This is one of the most challenging days of the trip, beginning with a 10-hour walk. We will start very early at 6:00 a.m. from the city of Nakbé to La Florida.
During the long journey we will go through secondary peripheral settlements and through what once were Mayan villages and now they are covered by different types of forest. We will have lunch at El Ramonal Site, where we will take a short break.
At the end of the afternoon, we will arrive at La Florida camp, where we will recover energy and camp.
Day 6
After breakfast, we will visit La Florida, where we will have the opportunity to know the characteristics of a small pre-Hispanic village.
La Florida, one of the main craft centers, which once had a source of flint, where tools and weapons were made and distributed to neighboring cities, since it was one of the main trade routes of the region.
Afterwards, we return to Carmelita, where we will be welcomed with a delicious lunch. You can register your name on the Wall of Fame and bring with you a special memory of this adventure.
