|
INFORMATION OF THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES OF PETEN CENTRAL EAST
YAXHA
Means green water in the Mayan language. It is the main ceremonial center in the area. It is located under a little mountain northeast of the Yaxha lagoon. Yaxha is a site, which like Tikal shows a twin pyramid complex. Yaxha has 4 acropolis, 2 ball courts and more than 400 structures. It reached its highest splendor between the Classic and the Late-Classic Period (between 300 and 900 BC).
From a pyramid building composed of nine rising platforms named Temple 216, one of the best views of the jungles and lakes may be appreciated, making it one of the best places to observe the sunset.
The site is only ten minutes by car from El Sombrero
TOPOXTE
Situated on one of three larger islands found in the lagoon, it was mapped in 1835. Archeological research was carried out in a series of underground tunnels and caves, carved in limestone, which date from the late Pre-Classic (400 BC). It was one of the largest Post-Classic historic centers in the entire Peten region.
In the Great Plaza, there are 2 pyramids with temples; public buildings that represent the column characteristic of the Post-Classic period.
The site is only 15 minutes away, by boat, from “El Sombrero”.
IXTINTO
This archeological site covers approximately 2.5 acres. It is located on the lagoon’s southeastern shores under a series of mountains that surround the Ixtinto River. It is formed by 3 large well defined architectural groups and 15 plazas with a total of 57 structures among which pyramids, palaces and astronomic commemoration complexes may be seen next to a Ball Court and other Middle Pre-Classic to Post-Classic monuments.
The site is an hour by car or one and two and a half hours away by horse from “El Sombrero” Ecolodge.
NAKUM
To get to Nakum from “El Sombrero” Ecolodge you will cross La Justa swamp and the Holmul River. It is possible to do so by Jeep during the dry season and with horses all the year round.
The city has a large Sacbe or main street, which joined the two groups in which the monumental area is divided. The most important construction period was the Late Classic. A big concentration of buildings, plazas and pyramids with exposed architecture, a building with 32 rooms and other pyramids with Maya arches may be appreciated here. In another temple coal drawings and graffiti can be observed on the walls.
The site is 4 hours away by horse or two hours by jeep from “El Sombrero”.
POZA MAYA
A swamp community that was the concept around which all activities that took place in and around the “Justa Swamp” were organized. It has 4 plazas, a ball court and a (calzada) or main street. It is one kilometer away from another place called “La Aguada Maya”, a 200-mts2 dam that shows in one corner a sloping construction. This reveals a possible cultivation channel system.
The site is about 2 1/2 hours away by horse and 45 minutes by jeep from “El Sombrero”.
NARANJO
A grand city-state of El Peten, it was a civic and ceremonial center with 50 plazas and 38 stelae, including a hieroglyphic stairway and masks on one of its temples. Vegetation covers much of these structures. Some of its stelae are found in Melchor de Mencos Main Square.
The predators of archeological pottery, which are putting the stability of the structures of this important site in a very big danger, are actually sacking this site.
The site is 2 hours away by jeep from “El Sombrero”.
|
|
|
