🇬🇹 #12 Guatemala - Charming Island Town of Flores and the Legendary Mayan Site of Tikal

We reached our first city in Guatemala after a 2.5 hour bus journey, cost us a $20 exit fee from Belize and had a relaxed, if not so well signposted, border control. Our first impression - wow, the people are very welcoming and smile at you in a friendly manner. 🇬🇹
Flores is an island town in Lake Petén-Itza. The colourful town is connected to the mainland by a causeway and offers breathtaking views of the lake and the surrounding landscape.
The town itself offers a charming atmosphere with cobbled streets, colourful colonial buildings, a variety of restaurants and cafés and a lively culture. 🍹

Flores is also the perfect starting point for exploring the region's ancient Mayan sites, in particular Tikal, one of the largest and best-preserved Mayan cities in the world.
The lost city lay hidden in the dense Guatemalan jungle for centuries before it was rediscovered by an Austrian explorer in 1848.🪷🌺🌿
Tikal covered an area of 16 square kilometres in the central area and 576 square kilometres in the entire national park area. The lush vegetation of the rainforest has covered many of the ruins over the centuries. Archaeologists have only excavated about 5% of the central area of Tikal. It is estimated that up to 10,000 buildings still lie dormant under the jungle.

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Fun fact: The ruins of Tikal served as the backdrop for the film "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" and were the filming location for the rebel base on the moon Yavin.