This important archaeological site is placed by the lagoon identified with the identical name, and it is linked to Flores in the east by way of 80 km road which 70 kilometers are paved while the last 10 kilometers are sandy roads. Yaxha signifies “green water.”
Yaxha is a Maya city of monumental magnitude with more than 500 buildings. Positioned on a hillside, northern of the lagoon, it occupies from eastern till west 3 kilometers.
The site is characterized by significant human-made platforms, causeways, and paths linking different architectural complexes of the metropolis and also the lake.
Here you are going to walk-through their causeways under an exuberant exotic forest, in which howler monkeys flood the ambiance with their howls to impress the females or move away from an intruding male within their group.
You are going to ascend some temples, which are the photographers’ accomplices because they provide stunning sights. You will finish your day on top of the higher section of the temple 216 (also known as Temple of the Red Hands), the most elevated structure within the area.
The tropical jungles are the spots with a more substantial wealth of botanical species on the planet and Yaxha is representative of these woodlands and favors the large quantity of water in the region the excellent diversity of the wildlife.
Yaxha Park belongs to the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Within the Park, there are four important archaeological sites: Yaxhá, Nakum, Naranjo, and Topoxte.
The city of Yaxha becoming an essential area to the ancient Maya culture and also the jungles inside of are exceptionally well-preserved, and the Yaxhá Lagoon is among the most significant water systems inside the Maya Biosphere.
Yaxha has documented 150 birds’ species, forty type of mammals, fourteen amphibious, forty-five reptiles, and 22 variety of fish.
The archeological site Topoxte is located at the southwest corner of the lagoon Yaxha, inside the natural monument Yaxha – Nakum – Naranjo, at the basin of the central lakes of Peten.
Topoxte is a small island and is 400 x 300 meters size with an urban characteristic composition of the post-classical period of the 15th and 16th century, with over 100 buildings distributed in 2 elevated spaces and one low with patios, ramps, and terraces molded to the topography of the terrain. The city extends itself to other close islands, Cante and Paxte.
From the main square of the site, with its set of ceremonial architecture, to the attached elevated areas of elitist homes and service, the principle of urban ordering is a sequence of irregular concentric levels surrounding the elevated center towards the exterior of the island with continuous curved stripes until you reach the shores of the lagoon. The communication between the strips, and towards the elevated center, was made in a radial system with large staircases.
The houses also maintained a clear order of hierarchy towards the ceremonial center and the respective plaza. They were organized in orderly groups and communicated with each other through open patios and cobbled alleys.
The fortified character of the island, with its high slopes, severely limited the free development of the settlement. As a consequence, the urban structure was dense and concentrated, with more than a hundred buildings on the surface, of which only the vestiges of the upper central part are visible.
8:00 am, a representative of the company will pick you up at your hotel to be transported to Yaxha area, at your arrival, you will have time to use the facilities, and then you will enjoy a scenic boat ride in the lagoon of Yaxha towards the archaeological site of Topoxte.
Here you will be guided through the site discovering the fascinating history of one of the sites with a prolonged occupation that reaches the post-classic period.
After the tour, you will board the boat back to El Sombrero ecolodge to enjoy a tasty lunch.
After lunch time, you will take the transportation towards Yaxha archaeological site. Upon your arrival at the park, you will be guided through the archeological site walking inside the third largest site in the lowlands of Guatemala, after El Mirador and Tikal.
During the tour you will visit the astronomical area, the lake’s causeway where you will take a walk under the tropical forest to visit the Maler Group, the North Acropolis, the North-East Acropolis, the Twin Pyramids Complex which is interesting because it is the only one found out of Tikal.
To finish your Yaxha tour, you will visit the East Acropolis where is located the tallest building of the site known as structure 216 also known as Temple of the Red Hands, here you will enjoy the sunset and the fantastic views of the tropical Mayan jungle, the lagoons of Sacnab and Yaxha and the wildlife.
After sunset, you will return to your hotel.
