El Mirador
From World travel guide
El Mirador is in Guatemala.
Contents |
Understand
The reasons that El Mirador is not swamped with tourists are its inaccessibility and there is not a lot to be seen except for many unrestored mounds and pyramids in the jungle. Once a person has hiked to the top of El Tigre, the view that awaits is mostly of jungle and other ruins, such as Calakmul and Nakbé in the distance. Still, it is the idea of a formerly lost city in the jungle that brings people to see it.
History
El Mirador flourished as a trading center from around 200 BCE to 150 CE during the Maya Pre-Classic Period. With a population as high as 80,000, it was one of the first large cities in North America. In the mid second century CE the entire Mirador Basin with numerous other cities and villages became depopulated. There is little evidence of a population until there was a modest one in the Classic Period.
On April 18th, 2002, President Alfonso Portillo signed legislation, which established the Mirador Basin National Monument as a Special Archaeological Zone. This is intended to provide for the permanent protection of 600,000 acres of tropical rainforest in this area, which surrounds the oldest and largest Maya archaeological sites in Mesoamerica. The Mirador Basin National Monument is designed as a wilderness preserve without roads.
However, events of 2005 in Guatemala have pitted ranching and logging interests against this effort. Even some locals who do not see how tourism in the area will benefit them yet are in favor of what will result in roads, short term logging, non-sustainable swidden agriculture and ranches where once there was rain forest. See http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1113-wsj.html.
Landscape
Flora and fauna
Climate
Get in
Fees/Permits
Get around
See
The city's main group of buildings covers two square kilometers and many were built on a grand scale. The largest pyramid at El Mirador, El Tigre, has six times the surface area as Temple IV at Tikal and is 55 meters tall.
The Danta Complex is about 300 meters wide on each side of the bottom base, which is 7 meters high and supports a series of buildings. The next and smaller platform rises another 7 meters. Above that is another platform around 21 meters high, which is topped off by three pyramids, the tallest of which is 21 meters high. The total height is 70 meters, making it taller than Temple IV at Tikal.
Do
Current tours also can involve visiting Nakbé and will take longer than seeing just the one site. They require stamina and involve riding horses (or more often mules) or walking for around 27-30 hours over the course of five days. Saddle horses or mules are good to have along, but if you are not going in the rainy season, you will probably alternate walking with riding and may want to share a horse among two of you.
Unless there is a pressing need to arrange such a trek there ahead of time, the best approach seems to be to arrive in Flores and compare prices with various agents.
Buy
Buy what you need beforehand. The guards at any Guatemalan ruin rotate in for 40 days at a time, so consider buying and bringing "items" for them. Food treats or adult beverages would be enjoyed.
Eat
Food is included in any outfitted trip to El Mirador, but some of the more inexpensive ones have been known to run out of food. Bring snacks and granola bars.
Drink
BYO, except for water amd maybe sodas.
Sleep
Lodging
See below for Camping.
Camping
Any trip includes solid cloth hammocks, mosquito netting and a blanket.
Backcountry
Stay safe
Get out
External links
For information on how to get to El Mirador, see http://www.mostlymaya.com/howto/Miradorlogis.html
