Guatemala Holidays: Trek through the jungle to the Maya sites of El Ceibal, Aguateca and Dos Pilas Jungle Trekking

The Peten Rainforest area in northern Guatemala is home to an abundance of ancient Maya temple sites and tropical wildlife which are best viewed by taking an adventurous trekking trip through the jungle. Al trips are operated with both a local community and bi-lingual guide. The reason we use local community guides is two-fold. As well as the fact that local guides know the rainforest trails, wildlife and sites better than anyone, our employment of them helps to support the communities in the area and we hope will help to slow down the deforestation of the rainforest as local people can earn a good wage guiding tours instead of farming.

Upriver from Sayaxche is the impressive ruin of Ceibal that served as a tollgate for barges plying the river in ancient Maya times. Ceibal's beauty has much to do with its jungle surroundings, which offer visitors glimpses of the rain forests' seemingly infinite web of life. The site's archaeological attractions include several restored temples, plazas and intricately carved stelae, each of them showing a profound foreign influence, most likely from the Toltecs.
From Ceibal we head for Aguateca, a largely unrestored Aguateca on the southern shore of lake Petexbatun. Next we visit Dos Pilas, with its magnificent staircase covered with hieroglyphics. Important recent archaeological finds indicate that continual warfare may have caused an ecological imbalance that led to the collapse of Maya civilisation.

Day 1: Flores to Ceibal
You will be picked up at your hotel in Flores at about 08:00am and transferred by bus to the river town of Sayaxche. Here you will board a boat to the site of El Ceibal. In the dry season it may be possible to transfer to El Ceibal by land. Once at El Ceibal you will have a guided tour of the site and a picnic lunch. In the afternoon the boat will take you back to Sayaxche and then past it and on to the site of Aguateca. Here we will prepare camp for diner and overnight.

Day 2: Aguateca to Dos Pilas
Today you will wake up in Aguateca site and take a boat to "Paso Caribe" where you will begin your trek to Dos Pilas site. The trek is 12km which will take approx 3hours. You will then have a guided tour of the site and a picnic lunch before trekking back to "Paso Caribe" where the boat will be waiting to take you back to Aguateca Site. Dinner and overnight at Aguateca site.

Day 3: Aguateca to Flores
Today you will wake up in Aguateca site and have a guided tour of the site. After a tour the boat will take us back to the town of Sayaxche where we will have lunch in a restaurant before driving back to Flores and to your hotel.

Why not combine this journey with Yaxha, Nakum and Tikal Jungle Trekking , the Scarlet Macaw Trail - El Peru , El Mirador or El Zotz so that you cover the most important archaeological sites of the famous Peten region?
Additional night Hotel Del Patio per person per night (breakfast included): single room: USD70, double room: USD 40, triple room: USD 35.

Rated: Medium

Price per person without bilingual guide
	2	3	4	5+
USD	$ 290	$ 225	$ 211	$ 172
EUR	€ 241	€ 187	€ 175	€ 142
GBP	£ 162	£ 126	£ 118	£ 96

(*) Price last updated on 11 April 2004. Current price may vary due to elements out of our control, so please always check by sending us a
quotation request .

Price per person with bilingual guide
	2	3	4	5+
USD	$ 416	$ 309	$ 275	$ 223
EUR	€ 346	€ 257	€ 228	€ 185
GBP	£ 233	£ 173	£ 154	£ 124

(*) Price last updated on 11 April 2004. Current price may vary due to elements out of our control, so please always check by sending us a
quotation request .

Included:
* Bus from Flores to Sayaxche and back
* Boat from Sayaxche to El Ceibal to Aguateca to Sayaxche
* All meals described in the above itinerary
* Local Guide and bilingual guide (if required)
* Camping Equipment, Hammocks and Mosquito Nets
* Purified water & First aid kit
* Entrances to all sites

Not included:
Meals not mentioned, tips, personal expenses, telephone calls, laundry, drinks, domestic flights etc.