Tikal is currently thought to be the largest Mayan site. The tallest building at the site, Temple IV, stands at 230 ft. tall. The site is so large that it's possible to spend several days wandering. Amy and I were there for the end of one day and the bulk of the next, and we got to check out most of it, with the mosquito bites to prove it. I got two just on my face.
The size of the structures is tremendously impressive, and several of the temples are scalable, though most are accessed by wooden staircases built to the side as the original stone staircases leading up some of them are so worn and steep that several people have actually fallen to their deaths. Below are the view from the tops of Temple V and Temple IV, respectively. Fans of Star Wars may recognize this view.
Tikal sits on the southern end of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, the second largest area of protected tropical forests in the Western Hemipshere (after the Amazon.) In addition to seeing the incredible ancient architecture, it's easy to spot some great wildlife as well. We saw and heard the vicious yells of many howler monkeys, plenty of beautiful birds, and even some pacas. At one point, we heard the sound of an animal crying, and looked up in the tree to see a baby spider monkey hanging from the end of a branch. After watching it for a little bit, we realized that its mother or father was hanging from the branch of the opposite tree, trying to teach it how to jump from one to the other. In the picture below on the left, you can see the hesitant baby spider monkey hanging on the left tree and its parent on the right. It tried jumping at one point but didn't make it to the next tree, just barely grabbing on to the branch it had just left with its tail. After hanging there for a bit, its parent came back over to illustrate proper jumping technique. A few minutes later, baby monkey finally worked up the courage and strength and successfully connected on the jump pictured below.
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