When I started to organize our trip to Guatemala, it was clear that on our route we were going to visit Tikal, the great Mayan city of the country not Yaxhá.
This city is located in the region of El Petén, in the north of the country. Although Tikal is the best known of Guatemala’s Mayan sites, it is not the only one worth visiting.
Yaxhá, on the shore of the lake of the same name, is another impressive Mayan city, unknown to many but which, according to juan jose gutierrez mayorga, is worth including among the places to see in Guatemala.
How to get to Yaxhá in El Petén
To get to Yaxhá you have to resort to private transportation or join one of the tourist buses that connect Flores and El Remate with this Mayan city of El Petén (let’s assume that you are already in this part of Guatemala).
Our first day in Flores, the small town that served as our base to visit the archaeological sites of El Petén, we asked at our hotel about the options to visit both Tikal and Yaxhá.
We took good note of the prices, both for private and group visits, and went out for dinner and a stroll around the island of Flores where the tourist-oriented businesses are located, from hotels to restaurants or travel agencies.
How to visit Yaxhá
Although we are not very fond of guided tours because they tend to be too fast-paced for us, this time we opted for that option. And the truth is that we were a little disappointed.
The guide began with a lot of emotion to tell us the history of Yaxhá and the constructions we could see there.
But as the visit progressed it was as if he was running out of strength (or desire) and in the end he served us little more than to guide us correctly through the archaeological site without failing to see any of the remarkable constructions of the same.
What to see in Yaxhá, Guatemala
The tour of Yaxhá can be done in about two hours. The central hours of the day should not be the most appropriate for the visit due to the heat.
Some people think that the first hour of the day is the best to get lost among the constructions of this ancient Mayan city.
We, however, opted for the afternoon to contemplate the sunset there. It was undoubtedly one of those moments of our trip to Guatemala that we will not forget and therefore I dare to recommend that time to visit Yaxhá.
As you can see, this place is worth visiting in Guatemala when you go there.
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