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The new Mel Gibson movie Apocalypto (2006) brought public attention to the Mayan ruins of El Mirador in Guatemala close to the Mexican border.

The 5-6 day hike to the fabled ruins of El Mirador is one of the best hikes in the world — we think.

National Geographic illustration of the original Mayan city

Our one attempt to get there, independently, we postponed. It’s a tough slog reports Ben Brazil:

Spider monkeys had hurled branches at us from treetops. Clouds of mosquitoes dogged our every step with the mechanical persistence of zombies. Although the jungle had wowed me with its ecological diversity, it had mainly stung me, sucked my blood and dehydrated me.
source – L.A. Times

For now we recommend you sign on with trekking company:

Trekking to El Mirador is a no-frills experience that demands toughness and good physical condition. You’ll need a guide and at least five days, round-trip — six to see the Nakbé ruins, which are on a different trail. Expect long days (six to 10 hours of walking). Pricier tours may offer a combination of walking and horseback riding.

Maya Expeditions … The American-run company offers seven- to 10-day treks costing $625-$1,085 per person with a four-person minimum. …

Martsam Travel … has five-day treks for $350 per person or seven-day treks for $460 per person for groups of four. English-speaking guide is extra. It also arranges guided, one-day helicopter trips to El Mirador, which cost $1,420 for up to four people if a helicopter is available in Flores. Often the helicopter must come from Guatemala City, raising the cost dramatically.

Many travel agencies in Flores sell cut-rate trips. Be careful: Some have sent clients without sufficient food or water, and service may be surly or worse.

source – L.A. Times

Read the full L.A. Times article – Atop the world of the Maya

Images from an entertaining 2003 trip report by Dave Howard in the Waterbury Observer.

tarantula

You could spend weeks hiking just slot canyons in this area.

The best site to get inspired is AmericanSouthWest.net .

Few places on Earth have such beauty and mystique on an intimate scale as the delicately scupltured and coloured slot canyons of the American Southwest. There are thousands of scenic canyons in this region but most are relatively wide and often descend in steps through rock layers of differing hardness; in contrast, slot canyons have vertical walls and may be hundreds of feet deep but only a few feet wide.

Most slot canyons are remote, hidden and difficult to reach and explore, but this only adds to their appeal; one can get a good idea from a photograph, but this is no substitute for visiting in person. The canyons tend to be dry for most of the year but receive occasional flash floods of great force, most frequently during the late summer months. It is these sudden torrents of water, carrying logs, stones and other debris that have been cutting through the relatively soft rock for millions of years, resulting in a great variety of colourful rock shapes and forms.

In general, true slot canyons are found only on the many rivers and their tributaries that ultimately flow into Lake Powell, in Utah. There are three main drainage systems; various creeks that cross Navajo land south of the lake in Arizona, branches of the Paria River to the west, and branches of the Escalante and other rivers to the north.

Slot Canyons of the American Southwest