fun things to do with kids in tikal guatemala   Travel for Kids
Guatemala
  | North - peten
     
   
   
   
 

Tikal (Parque Nacional de Tikal)

Tikal
Like the Egyptian pyramids or Machu Picchu, the Maya ruins of Tikal exceed your expectations. Kids sitting on on a limestone block atop a temple-pyramid, the jungle stretching beyond, it's simply spectacular. Ancient Tikal was so ahead of its time – scenes for the first "Star Wars" movie were filmed at Tikal (and the rebel base of Yavin was based on the Maya architecture).
    Tikal was inhabited for a thousand years, from 900 BC to 900 AD, and at its peak, it was one of the great lowlands Maya cities. The ruins are quite extensive, over 3,000 buildings, spread over a large area in the jungle (and more structures are still buried beneath the dense tropical forest). Today, Tikal is very much a local tradition. On weekends, Guatemalan families come to picnic with their children.
  Exploring the Maya Ruins
  Tikal Museums
  Wildlife - Animals & Birds
  Travel Tips Tikal with Kids
  Night sky - Tikal is a long way from any big cities, and the night sky is just magical. Over centuries, the Maya charted the path of the moon and planets (especially Venus) across the night sky. If you're staying in the hotels in the park, be sure to go out at night to gaze at the stars.
    Canopy Tours Tikal - Just outside the park, if kids want to fly through the jungle like a spider monkey, take the ziplines. Also available, hanging suspension bridges through the jungle, and horseback rides.
   

Shopping

     

Near the entrance to the ruins, buy corn husk dolls, decorated with iridescent turkey feathers. At the shops next to the Visitors Center, buy wooden carvings of Guatemalan animals – jaguars, monkeys, armadillos, crocodiles, coatimundis, as well as stone-carved replicas of artifacts from the ruins and Guatemalan textiles.

kids books ancient maya tikal guatemala
     
Tikal kids books ancient maya  
Tikal
Elizabeth Mann

Story of the kings of Tikal , especially Hasaw Chan K'awil, who constructed the pyramids in the Great Plaza. A stunning two page foldout and wonderful illustrations bring Tikal to life – you feel as if you're there, 1300 years ago. (Picture book)

 

     
The Ancient Maya
Jackie Maloy

Get to know the ancient Maya, their cities, temples and palaces in the rainforest, society, arts and religion, plus fun facts about the ancient Maya – flat foreheads and large noses were considered beautiful, wealthy Maya wore jaguar skins, jade was highly prized. (Picture book)

 

 
guatemala childrens books The Ancient Maya
     
Maya: Amazing Inventions You Can Build Yourself childrens books guatemala  

Super introduction to ancient Maya daily life and history, calendar and hieroglyphs, gods and sacrifices, plus 25 activities and crafts – make a clay drinking cup, royal jewelry, or burial mask, cook tortillas, count with Maya numbers, and more. (Activity book)

 

facebooktwitterinstgramvimeo travelforkidspinterest