亚萨哈

A lot smallet than Tikal, but also with such few people in February we barely saw more than 5 at a time,. All of this makes for a wonderful experience. The sounds of the monkeys and the toucans and oropendulas are constant, fantastic jungle music.

Decided to stop by and check out these ruins on your way to Flores. We had a Guatemalan tour guide that had highly recommended that we stop here and we're so glad we listened to him. It's quite a drive off the main road but it was an amazing experience in itself when we came across 5 or 6 Black Howler Monkeys playing in the trees over the road. The sound that came out of them was like nothing we'd ever heard and we could hear them throughout the entire park. The ruins were incredible and we climbed to the top where we had an amazing view of some of the lakes nearby and the breathtaking landscape. Beautiful jungle area with paths between the ruins. There were a few other people here that had come on a bus but really not that busy. It seems like not a lot of tourists know about this site as we had mentioned it to several of the locals we met in San Ignacio and they had never heard about it. We never went to Tikal as we wanted to check out the smaller sites and this one is definitely at the top of our list!

Yaxha is an archaeological site in the northeast of the Petén region, and a former ceremonial centre and city of the Maya civilization. Yaxha is the third largest ruin in Guatemala.The site has about 500 structures,including about 40 stelae,13 Altars, 9 temple pyramids, 2 ballcourts, and a network of causeways.Please spend at least 2-3 hours here

After seeing the splendor of Tikal, I thought the trek to Yaxha was going to be disappointing. Boy was I wrong! Although, not as large as Tikal this little gem features beautiful walks through the pristine jungle with plenty of Myan structures to see. We were also vsited by a gang of spider monkeys who performed aerial acrobatics in the trees above us. The highlight of this trip was climbing to the top of temple 216 and enjoying the spectacular views. You must see this site nefore it becomes popular. We felt like we were the only people on a private tour. We hardly bumped into anyone there.

We visited Yaxha before visiting Tikal, and were not at all disappointed It features many temples, causeways, pyramids, ball courts, etc. The climb to the top of one of the structures to view the sunset was well worth it.

A lot smaller than Tikal and can be seen in 3 hours but well worth the trip with a stunning main temple and view. It can easily be linked in with the nearby island site of Topoxte

Even though the structures weren't as high or as impressive as Tikal myself and my partner both preferred it. There are a lot less tourists, there were only about ten of us at once in the park at the same time. You get a stronger sense of a city structure here, there are two impressive causeways, one which goes to the lake. You get a real feel for the city in its entirety. Many of the structures are still covered but they are able to tell you on the map what they are. Some of the temple design differs from Tikal. They also have a good walking route on the map so it was easy to get around and see everything within two hours. Enroute we were easily able to spot spider monkeys, they were almost dripping from the trees as we could hear howlers and a lot of parrots. We chose to visit Yaxha by getting a taxi to take us here from Flores on the way to Belize. They waited for us then dropped us at the border. It was worthwhile making the effort. Turn up with Quitzals though, they don't take American dollars.

Maybe there is too much hype about Tikal and not enough about Yaxha.I would advise to stay at least 3 days 2 night near el remate to enjoy the lake, visit tikal and attend the sunset at Yaxha.Tikal is larger but I find Yaxha being more complex with interesting infrastructure, connection to the lake, structure to collect rain water and an amazing Vista for the sunset. If you are passing by on you ways to or from Belize, do stop! If you are in the region, extend your stay to see it.

I visited Yaxha the day after Tikal and enjoyed it so much more. There were fewer tourists, so you could easily climb up the pyramids and enjoy the view - you weren't jostling for a position to get a photo. You could also hear so many more howler monkeys - in fact we even saw a few.

Yaxha was really good but if you only have time for one trip to the ruins, I would suggest going to Tikal as the ruins are larger and more impressive.

If you are all the way out there to see Tikal go to see Yaxha. While not as grand, it still is pretty, and interesting. The tour groups tend to sit on the top of one of the temples to see the sunset. They were loud and the tranquility of the moment was ruined by this. It reminded me of Mandalay where we trekked up to see a beautiful sunset, and it was loaded with chattering people.

We toured Guatemala over the holidays and one of the stops was in Flores. From there, we went to Yaxha and Tikal and I'm very glad that we went in this order. Tikal is phenomenal but so many people. Yaxha was a lot smaller, less people visiting, but absolutely beautiful. You are able to see better the terraces and foundations than Tikal. These ruins show more details than what is currently excavated at Tikal. Much smaller scale.Go to both. You will enjoy both but Tikal is so impressive that you will be disappointed with Yaxha if you go there second.

I have been to Tikal on several occasions but muchprefer Yaxha. It is a much smaller park but therehas been substantial restoration over the past 10 years or so. When you are here you will have the park to yourself because it is remote to get to.

I wouldn't visit Yaxha over Tikal, but I would certainly take the time to do both. The character of both of the sites is completely different. We had tour guides for both so it was nice to get some history with our visits. Tikal is bigger and more developed, but because Yaxha was discovered after Tikal, more care has been taken to develop it is a sensitive manner and to represent the space as the Mayan's would have utilized it. It was absolutely beautiful, and as most reviews noted, almost no one else was there. This gave us the feeling of being in the jungle by ourselves, where we could truly enjoy the nature. The howler monkeys along are worth the trip. The views are spectacular. The best way to do this site is to book a tour that will take you there as well as walk the site with you. You will get the most out of the experience that way. Be prepared for lots of walking and stair climbing. Totally worth the time. We stayed overnight between the two sites and were glad we saw them both.Bring your own water and snacks as there is absolutely no place to purchase anything. Our tour also included lunch at a local restaurant after which had very good food and lots of it. Eat a good breakfast before you leave as you wont leave the site until early afternoon.

Access is over a rough dirt road which keeps the number of tour groups down and makes it such a great experience for those who expend the effort. It is not particularly unique among Mayan sites but is much more intimate and therefore richer experience. Great views of the nearby lake from the top to the temple.