Yaxha- Our Last Mayan City
Yaxha was probably a sort of resort for Mayan traders. The site is rather spread out and the pyramids on hilltops offer spectacular views. A lot of the visit involved walking shady jungle paths to arrive at the various buildings.
Much of Yaxha looks like this, covered mounds with trees growing from them.
They did excavate a small ball court.
We had to use the stairs to climb pyramids. This one is still mostly covered.
You can see how the forest has overtaken much of the city.
This cutaway shows the layering process the Mayans used in all of their cities. They would build small temples, then cover them with stones when they believed the world would end. When the end time passed and they were still alive, they would return to the cites and build the new layer directly on the stones. I guess they figured the gods had given them a second chance (or a 3rd or a 4th).
The rounded corners on the temples are indicative of the Classic Mayan period, AD 600-900.
Those men were working on restoration here.
The members of my group and I were headed to climb the tallest pyramid. We were the only visitors in the whole place.
We were treated to a nice view of the lake.
That's a long way down!
Our guide left us here because he said once we got to the top, we would never want to come down. We did spend a lot of time here.
It was a hot day, but the breeze up here felt great and we were in no hurry to climb back down. The remoteness of the city, the beauty of the buildings, and the surrounding forest made for a wonderful afternoon. Everyone enjoyed this excursion.
Much of Yaxha looks like this, covered mounds with trees growing from them.
They did excavate a small ball court.
We had to use the stairs to climb pyramids. This one is still mostly covered.
You can see how the forest has overtaken much of the city.
This cutaway shows the layering process the Mayans used in all of their cities. They would build small temples, then cover them with stones when they believed the world would end. When the end time passed and they were still alive, they would return to the cites and build the new layer directly on the stones. I guess they figured the gods had given them a second chance (or a 3rd or a 4th).
The rounded corners on the temples are indicative of the Classic Mayan period, AD 600-900.
Those men were working on restoration here.
The members of my group and I were headed to climb the tallest pyramid. We were the only visitors in the whole place.
We were treated to a nice view of the lake.
That's a long way down!
Our guide left us here because he said once we got to the top, we would never want to come down. We did spend a lot of time here.
It was a hot day, but the breeze up here felt great and we were in no hurry to climb back down. The remoteness of the city, the beauty of the buildings, and the surrounding forest made for a wonderful afternoon. Everyone enjoyed this excursion.