I hiked to El Mirador with a guide. It is a 5 day round trip. No signal, no roads, just jungle.
Unlike sites such as Tikal which are more accessible, El Mirador is mostly untouched. You won’t see any graffiti. The main pyramids there are the only thing sticking above the tree line in any direction.
Can you please add some more color? Was it worth it to make the extra effort? How well could you take in El Mirador vs Tikal considering the thick jungle?
Sure. I went with a group, 5 other adults. It was a really incredible experience, not just because of the archeology but because of the beauty of the forest.
For example, we encountered howler monkeys in the wild. They did not like us, we were invading their home. They threw sticks and nuts down at us from above.
Most hazardous were the army ants. You could see thick ropes of them across the ground, and when I made the mistake of trying to video them, a few of them decided they liked the taste of me. No sting but they bite.
Ultimately it just showed me that we’re not in control. We just think we are, but nature is more powerful, and never sleeps.
The pyramids are huge. They look like mini mountains, covered in dirt and vegetation. Whatever civic purpose they once held was ultimately subsumed by nature. We were able to climb to the top via ropes and temporary wooden platforms.
Comparing El Mirador and Tikal, the latter is much more well excavated. So you can see all of the carvings in detail. The pyramids also look bigger because there’s no trees around. It is mind blowing how such a structure could be created without power tools, and really makes you think about what the pyramids represented and why they were built. And Tikal isn’t that old, only abandoned around 1100 years ago, that’s 500 years after Rome fell and a blink of an eye in geologic time.
But the other tourists really interrupt the experience at Tikal. They didn’t “earn” it in the same way we did to get to El Mirador, so they didn’t respect it either. I won’t say don’t go though, it’s a huge commitment to hiking five days and Tikal is still incredible. There are pros and cons to both.
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[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 10.9 ms ] threadUnlike sites such as Tikal which are more accessible, El Mirador is mostly untouched. You won’t see any graffiti. The main pyramids there are the only thing sticking above the tree line in any direction.
For example, we encountered howler monkeys in the wild. They did not like us, we were invading their home. They threw sticks and nuts down at us from above.
Most hazardous were the army ants. You could see thick ropes of them across the ground, and when I made the mistake of trying to video them, a few of them decided they liked the taste of me. No sting but they bite.
Ultimately it just showed me that we’re not in control. We just think we are, but nature is more powerful, and never sleeps.
The pyramids are huge. They look like mini mountains, covered in dirt and vegetation. Whatever civic purpose they once held was ultimately subsumed by nature. We were able to climb to the top via ropes and temporary wooden platforms.
Comparing El Mirador and Tikal, the latter is much more well excavated. So you can see all of the carvings in detail. The pyramids also look bigger because there’s no trees around. It is mind blowing how such a structure could be created without power tools, and really makes you think about what the pyramids represented and why they were built. And Tikal isn’t that old, only abandoned around 1100 years ago, that’s 500 years after Rome fell and a blink of an eye in geologic time.
But the other tourists really interrupt the experience at Tikal. They didn’t “earn” it in the same way we did to get to El Mirador, so they didn’t respect it either. I won’t say don’t go though, it’s a huge commitment to hiking five days and Tikal is still incredible. There are pros and cons to both.