Exploring Piedras Negras (and playing Indiana Jones!)

The Usumacinta River is the wild boundary between Chiapas in Mexico, and the northwest Peten of Guatemala. Not only is the area a rich biosphere of old-growth tropical forest, it is also home to some of the most impressive, and least-visited, sites in the Mayan world.

We are proud to offer this itinerary, a rare opportunity to explore this unique and threatened area, and see some of the wildest terrain, and most impressive ancient culture, in the western hemisphere.

We hope you can join us!

For more information on some of the archaeological sites we will visit, click here

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1:             ARRIVAL - Welcome to Mexico!

Arrive to Mexico City and transfer to your flight to Villahermosa.    You will be met by a Maya Expeditions representative and transfer to the Hotel Cencali.     Relax and enjoy a welcome dinner, where we will all meet.

Overnight (ON) @ Hotel Cencali Villahermosa
Meals included: Dinner (D)

Day 2:             LA VENTA - COMALCALCO - PALENQUE

Breakfast and then we visit the site of La Venta Park, known for the colossal Olmec heads.    Enjoy the jaguar as we walk through the outdoor museum-zoo.

Board our bus with box lunches for a short drive to the site of Comalcalco. The only know Maya site made with brick.   Marvel at the artwork of the individual bricks over 1400 years old.    After our visits to the Maya sites we will be driven to Palenque (about 1 1/2 hours). There you will settle in at the Hotel Nututun, a beautiful hotel just on the outside of Palenque set in it's own private tropical setting.

Overnight (ON) @ Hotel Nututun
Meals included: Breakfast/Lunch (BL)
    

Day 3:             PALENQUE

All day to discover the spectacular ruins of Palenque. All morning to explore the great palaces and temples and tomb of this famed site. Lunch and afternoon for visiting the modern museum. Drive to Hotel Valle Escondido.

ON @ Hotel Valle Escondido
Meals included: BLD

Day 4: PIEDRAS NEGRAS - VALLE ESCONDIDO

After breakfast the 4-wheel drive and then ride and walk to the river to board your boat is about 30 minutes in a 4-wheel drive and then 15 minutes over a good trail.   After orientation by your guide, you will board special motorboats for a 45 min. ride up the Usumacinta River to the entrance of Piedras Negras. Short hike into the jungle for exploration of this extensive site hidden under the canopy of the dense rainforest.    We take our time visiting this large site, as we will have until late afternoon. Box lunch within the site, under the forest canopy. Return to the boat for our downstream ride to the hike back to Valle Escondido.  

ON @ Cabins Valle Escondido

Meals included: BLD

Day 5: Valle Escondido / Bonampak / Yaxchilan / Frontera Corozal

After breakfast, board bus for 1-hour ride to the site of Bonampak.    Enjoy the finely painted murals depicting various Maya scenes including the gruesome torturing and bloodletting rituals performed by the Maya.     After visiting the site board bus for a short ride to Frontera Corozal to check into Hotel Escudo Jaguar.    Then board our boat to the site of Yaxchilan with box lunch en route. All afternoon for exploring the extensive ruins and the many finely carved stelae of this well-preserved and important site.  

ON @ Hotel Escudo Jaguar  

Meals included: BL

Day 6: Frontera Corozal / FLORES / GUATEMALA

After breakfast and officially leaving Mexico we board our motorboat for short trip to Bethel, where you officially enter into Guatemala. Transfer to our bus for arrival to Tikal by 11:00 am. We visit the grand site of the ancient Maya at Tikal, famous for it's monumental pyramids and grandiose central plaza. We then return to the comfort of our hotel at the entrance to the park for lunch and a siesta. Later, we will visit the Museum of Tikal where many jade artifacts, ceramics, and tomb contents are on display.

ON @ Hotel Jungle Lodge  

Meals included: BL

You will note that most visitors to Tikal are "day trippers"--arriving in the morning and leaving in mid-afternoon. As such, you will have the park largely to yourself this afternoon, as you will stay tonight at a hotel, located in the park itself.

Staying in the park will give you a greater appreciation for the area and its abundant flora and fauna--especially the howler monkeys and coatimundis!

Note: All hotels located within Tikal Park have generated electricity, which is turned off at 9-10pm.   They do have hot water at certain times of the day/night.

Day 7: TIKAL / GUATEMALA CITY

Tikal Sunrise tour either to view bird life or to walk among the site where the howler monkeys and toucans are more active in the early light. Return to the hotel for breakfast. Free time until our 2pm transfer to the airport for our return flight to Guatemala City.

Tikal: TIKAL AND THE LOST WORLD

The first beginnings of Tikal, the most impressive ancient Mayan cities, was started over 2,500 years ago. The city of Tikal hosts more than 4,000 structures. It is surrounded by 576 square kilometers of National Park where jungle wildlife roam freely without the threat of man. On your tour to Tikal you will visit the Great Plaza, the Lost World Complex and the intricate architecture of the Central and Northern Acropolises. Climb one or all of the pyramid temples, which tower up to 65 meters above the jungle floor to witness the breathtaking view of the thick, rainforest, which still covers many monuments and stelae. You will be astonished by the myriad of flora, fauna and sounds of the forest as you walk through this peaceful timeless space. Admire many of the artifacts discovered during the excavation of Tikal at the nearby museum.

Museum of Tikal where many jade artifacts, ceramics, and tomb contents are on display.

ON @ Hotel Melia Crowne Plaza  

Meals included: BD

Day 8: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY

This building houses the stelae and famous throne design found at Piedras Negras during the Pennsylvania excavations of 1939.

The museum also houses the recent discoveries at Dos Pilas and the Petexbatun region. Various displays of Maya life, bloodletting and death rituals give one a more profound understanding of the cosmology of the Maya.

Enjoy your farewell dinner at Kacao, one of the prettiest restaurants in Guatemala City.

ON @ Hotel Melia Crowne Plaza  

Meals included: BL

Day 9: DEPART FOR HOME

Depart for home from Guatemala City Airport, where you will be assisted in checking in.

Meals included: B

Thanks for traveling with Maya Expeditions!