Copan, Rio Dulce & Tikal

DAY 1. (SUNDAY). ARRIVE GUATEMALA CITY
via to be met and transferred to Hotel Princess Reforma in fashionable Zona Rosa. TEL (502) 2334-4545.

DAY 2: COPAN IN HONDURAS
Morning pick-up at your hotel. Travel east through El Progresso and Zacapa to the border of Honduras. Enter Honduras to tour Copan, the southernmost major center of lowland Maya civilization and is famed for its artistic sculpture. The great Hieroglyphic Stairway was dedicated in 755 and it bears a continuous text of more than 1250 glyph blocks listing dates and names of the city's Classic Period rulers. Because of its beautiful artwork, unsurpassed in any other Maya city, Copan occupies a special place in the study of the ancient Maya. Visit Copan’s Museum of Maya Sculpture which contains some of the finest examples of Maya sculpture ever found. Dominating the center of the museum is a full-scale brightly colored replica of the Rosalila Temple which was completed in 571. The ball courts are the playing grounds of an extremely serious sport to the Mayans. These games are believed to have had religious significance: the captain of one team was sacrificed to the gods. Overnight in the village of Copan Ruinas. Hotel Marina Copan on the village park. TEL (504) 651-4070. (B.)

DAY 3: QUIRIGUA AND RIO DULCE
Enter Guatemala and continue to the Caribbean - Rio Dulce area. Visit Quirigua, another World Heritage Archaeological Site. This strategically located river city of the Classic Period controlled the important Motagua Valley trade route linking the Caribbean coast with interior settlements. Remarkably preserved portraits and texts on sandstone stelae chronicle a ruling dynasty in competition with nearby Copan. In 738 the ruler Cauac Sky captured and beheaded Copan's lord, 18 Rabbit. Quirigua is home to the largest stelae in the Maya World at 26 feet and 6 inches in height and weighing about 65 tons. Tonight’s hotel is in the tropical rainforest of Guatemala’s Rio Dulce area. Overnight Hotel Green Bay on the Bay of Amatique. TEL (502) 7948-2361. (B.)

DAY 4: LIVINGSTON AND CASTILLO SAN FELIPE
This morning explore the magnificent Rio Dulce by boat ride to the Garifuna town of Livingston located at the mouth of the Rio Dulce near the Caribbean Sea. Overnight on a small island in the Rio Dulce at the rustic and peaceful Hotel Catamaran. TEL (502) 7930-5494.

DAY 5: RIO DULCE TO TIKAL
Morning transfer from Rio Dulce to Tikal via a scenic three hour drive through the Peten Jungle. Afternoon at leisure. Overnight at Hotel Peten Esplendido on the shore of Lake Peten Itza just across the bridge to the island town of Flores in Lake Peten Itza. TEL (502) 5410-1592. (B.)

DAY 6: CEIBAL
Access Ceibal via boat on the Rio Pasion. Ceibal is surrounded by forest and shaded by huge ceiba trees. Two main plazas are dotted with lovely stelae. Ceibal was a relatively minor site during the Classic period, but grew rapidly between 830AD and 930AD. Overnight at Hotel Peten Esplendido on the shore of Lake Peten Itza. (B.L.).

DAY 7: TIKAL
Guided tour of Tikal. Intensive construction took place at Tikal from the late Pre-classic Period until the waning of Classic Maya civilization around AD 900. At its peak the city covered about 48 square miles and had a population estimated at 55,000. Tikal's Stelae 29 bears the earliest Long Count date known in the Maya lowlands. In 292 AD Temple IV, one of the many pyramids erected to memorialize the dead rulers of Tikal's royal dynasty, and one of the tallest of Maya structures at 212 feet, was erected. Evening flight back to Guatemala City for overnight Hotel Princess Reforma. (B.L.)

DAY 8: DEPARTURE
Transfer to GUA airport for departure flight, AA2196 at 8:41 AM. (B.)

INCLUDED: All transfers and tours with expert guides as described. Seven nights accommodations. Daily breakfasts. Two lunches. Flight from Flores (Tikal) to Guatemala.
Price per person sharing double: $1,228. With single rooms: $1,448.

For tours to this fascinating area, contact Mayatour:
800-392-6292
info@mayatour.com • www.mayatour.com