Ruinas de Uaxactun
Ruinas de Uaxactun
4.5
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4.5
139 reviews
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Augustine L
11 contributions
May 2022 • Solo
uaxactun!!!! Absolutely brilliant went for onr day stayed for six. Really chilled out town and the ruins are amazing especially the temple of masks. Thanks tonerbin, Mirna and Tina (comida super xhingona) and Sergio, Carol and haymen (hospedaje ching on) for making it such a relaxed trip. You can wander the ruins and jungles freely.
me paso super bien en uaxactun trip arrrvisor gracias a Erbin (guia y alcalde) , Mirna and Tina por la comida tan xhingona y a Sergio, Carol and Haymen for el hospedal y a toda la gente del tortillaria donde inventabamos a "Agustinillo" (empanada de queso. amRecomendo que todos visita a este pueblito tan chingona
me paso super bien en uaxactun trip arrrvisor gracias a Erbin (guia y alcalde) , Mirna and Tina por la comida tan xhingona y a Sergio, Carol and Haymen for el hospedal y a toda la gente del tortillaria donde inventabamos a "Agustinillo" (empanada de queso. amRecomendo que todos visita a este pueblito tan chingona
Written May 18, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Grzegorz P
60 contributions
Mar 2024 • Friends
Even if it’s close to tikal, it’s not easy to get to. There is a rural road, full of stones and You have to have permission to enter it with a car (obtained at tikal)
Ruins are scattered on a big area and there is only a little information/signs. The ruins are on both sides of a little town.
Besides that, place is great, there are multiple monuments, temples, and palaces. With some luck You might spot monkeys.
Moreover there is a big chance that You would be the sole tourist there (we were)
Ruins are scattered on a big area and there is only a little information/signs. The ruins are on both sides of a little town.
Besides that, place is great, there are multiple monuments, temples, and palaces. With some luck You might spot monkeys.
Moreover there is a big chance that You would be the sole tourist there (we were)
Written April 8, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brooklet425
Staunton, VA299 contributions
Jan 2019
We weren't really sure what to expect from Uaxactun, but this truly ended up being one of the highlights of our trip to Central America. We were staying at a hotel in Tikal National Park (The Jungle Lodge Hotel) and they arranged for their driver to take us up to Uaxactun (which is technically in the park boundaries.) The hotel charged us $80 USD for this, which we initially thought was a little expensive, but after seeing the road conditions that the driver had to drive on, and the amount of time that he spent with just the two of us, it really was worth the price. The hotel had also sent the driver to the park entrance, with copies of our passports, to buy us tickets to go to Uaxactun. We paid for the tickets, but there was no extra charge for the driver getting the tickets for us and we thought that was really nice. The drive from Tikal to Uaxactun is about a 20 mile (45ish minutes) ride on a poorly maintained dirt road, and then all of a sudden you are in a small village in the middle of the Guatemalan jungle, with Mayan ruins on opposite sides of the village. The two sides of town are separated by a large strip of land that we found out is an old landing strip. At one point Wrigley's Chewing Gum had used the trees in this area to make their gum, and the landing strip was from when they were set up there. We thought that was an interesting piece of history. As for the rest of the town, we absolutely loved the fact that there was no one else at the ruins when we were there. On one hand, I think it would be great if more people chose to visit this site. But on the other hand, having the place to ourselves was wonderful.
We toured the first set of ruins mostly by ourselves. Our driver from the hotel wasn't a tour guide, but he walked around with us and gave us a few pieces of information that he knew. Uaxactun is significant because it has the ruins of ancient Mayan astrological pyramids. From what we understand, archeologists basically ignored this site initially because they didn't think it was as significant as some other sites. Once the astrological pyramids were discovered, they started paying more attention to it. The astrological observatory is said to be the earliest known astrological observatory in the Mayan world.
When we were done with the first set of ruins, our driver took us to the other side of town to see more ruins. At this point, a young boy from the village appeared and started following us around at a distance. Eventually he came up to us and asked us if we wanted to buy a small carved jaguar that he had with him. He ended up walking around with us and showing us some places that we wouldn't have noticed on our own. Things like a natural air conditioner (hole in the ground that has cool air flowing through it), and a view from the top of one of the pyramids that overlooked the whole town. He didn't ask for any money for showing us around, but we ended up giving him $100 GTQ (about $14 USD) for the tour and for the souvenir jaguar. So if you're visiting these ruins and a young boy named Jeffrey appears and offers you a tour - take his tour! He wasn't pushy at all and was very respectful. He didn't speak English, but we were really impressed by his ability to communicate with us by speaking slowly and using hand gestures. He had the whole customer service thing down pat! He was really proud to be from Uaxactun and he knew a lot about the ruins themselves.
All this to say that if you have the time, then definitely visit these ruins. Take the time to walk around, and walk on any of the pyramids that allow you to. There are so many hidden nooks and crannies in the structures that you can't see from the ground, and the view of the town from the top of the largest structure was really nice. Our impromptu tour guide Jeffrey called the view "La cima del mundo" - the top of the world :-).
One tip that I wish we had known prior to visiting: Make sure that you have some cash on you in varying amounts. The village of Uaxactun is VERY small and the ruins aren't visited by many people. When you arrive, the local people WILL notice that you're there. At the first set of ruins, a local lady saw us arrive and set herself up with small souvenirs that we had to pass on our way out. We were the only ones there so we found it extremely hard to say "no" to what she was selling. Its much easier to walk past someone when there are lots of other people around, but not so easy when you are the only ones there. We knew that she was there because she had seen us arrive and we would have felt like jerks if we just walked past her and ignored her. We only had larger bills with us so we ended up buying two pairs of earrings that I didn't really want or need and some of the local chewing gum made from the trees in the area (that was actually kind of neat). When we met up with Jeffrey on the other side of town, he only asked for what amounted to about $4 USD for the jaguar trinket, but again, we only had larger bills with us and we ended up giving him about $14 USD. In total, we spent about $20 that we didn't intend on spending. It wasn't much, and certainly wasn't the end of the world, but it would have been nice to have been prepared with smaller amounts of money since a US Dollar goes really far in this area of Guatemala. The locals that we met here were extremely friendly and respectful and we didn't feel pressured to buy anything from them, but again, we would have felt really bad if we just ignored them. So make sure you have some cash on you in small amounts when you go here.
I wish that we had had more time to spend in the village. It's a place that I would like to go back to one day in order to explore more of the town. We noticed at least one restaurant as we drove around and I think there is also a campground or small hotel in the town too (unsure if its a campground or a hotel or something in between).
We toured the first set of ruins mostly by ourselves. Our driver from the hotel wasn't a tour guide, but he walked around with us and gave us a few pieces of information that he knew. Uaxactun is significant because it has the ruins of ancient Mayan astrological pyramids. From what we understand, archeologists basically ignored this site initially because they didn't think it was as significant as some other sites. Once the astrological pyramids were discovered, they started paying more attention to it. The astrological observatory is said to be the earliest known astrological observatory in the Mayan world.
When we were done with the first set of ruins, our driver took us to the other side of town to see more ruins. At this point, a young boy from the village appeared and started following us around at a distance. Eventually he came up to us and asked us if we wanted to buy a small carved jaguar that he had with him. He ended up walking around with us and showing us some places that we wouldn't have noticed on our own. Things like a natural air conditioner (hole in the ground that has cool air flowing through it), and a view from the top of one of the pyramids that overlooked the whole town. He didn't ask for any money for showing us around, but we ended up giving him $100 GTQ (about $14 USD) for the tour and for the souvenir jaguar. So if you're visiting these ruins and a young boy named Jeffrey appears and offers you a tour - take his tour! He wasn't pushy at all and was very respectful. He didn't speak English, but we were really impressed by his ability to communicate with us by speaking slowly and using hand gestures. He had the whole customer service thing down pat! He was really proud to be from Uaxactun and he knew a lot about the ruins themselves.
All this to say that if you have the time, then definitely visit these ruins. Take the time to walk around, and walk on any of the pyramids that allow you to. There are so many hidden nooks and crannies in the structures that you can't see from the ground, and the view of the town from the top of the largest structure was really nice. Our impromptu tour guide Jeffrey called the view "La cima del mundo" - the top of the world :-).
One tip that I wish we had known prior to visiting: Make sure that you have some cash on you in varying amounts. The village of Uaxactun is VERY small and the ruins aren't visited by many people. When you arrive, the local people WILL notice that you're there. At the first set of ruins, a local lady saw us arrive and set herself up with small souvenirs that we had to pass on our way out. We were the only ones there so we found it extremely hard to say "no" to what she was selling. Its much easier to walk past someone when there are lots of other people around, but not so easy when you are the only ones there. We knew that she was there because she had seen us arrive and we would have felt like jerks if we just walked past her and ignored her. We only had larger bills with us so we ended up buying two pairs of earrings that I didn't really want or need and some of the local chewing gum made from the trees in the area (that was actually kind of neat). When we met up with Jeffrey on the other side of town, he only asked for what amounted to about $4 USD for the jaguar trinket, but again, we only had larger bills with us and we ended up giving him about $14 USD. In total, we spent about $20 that we didn't intend on spending. It wasn't much, and certainly wasn't the end of the world, but it would have been nice to have been prepared with smaller amounts of money since a US Dollar goes really far in this area of Guatemala. The locals that we met here were extremely friendly and respectful and we didn't feel pressured to buy anything from them, but again, we would have felt really bad if we just ignored them. So make sure you have some cash on you in small amounts when you go here.
I wish that we had had more time to spend in the village. It's a place that I would like to go back to one day in order to explore more of the town. We noticed at least one restaurant as we drove around and I think there is also a campground or small hotel in the town too (unsure if its a campground or a hotel or something in between).
Written December 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BorderCollieFans
Woodbridge, CT21 contributions
Mar 2013 • Couples
An amazing sequence of buildings, most of them earlier than the ones at nearby Tikal. Hard to reach, but worth the effort, because there's a lot of privacy. About 50 indigenous families still live in the area around the ruins. There's a lot of archaeological work still to be done here and a lot more to learn about the earliest phases of Maya history.
Written March 22, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Travelbounce
Winnipeg, Canada141 contributions
Feb 2018 • Couples
We spent 2 nights as part of a tour group in Uaxactun enjoying the ruins and camping at a local site. It was like the ruins were ours alone and it was great. We toured the ruins with a local guide that was very informative and we never saw anyone else other than locals. The ruins were smaller but not less impressive at all. Really remarkable. The camping was amazing - huge canvas tents on platforms with raised beds and camp chairs to sit on the front deck and enjoy the birds and sounds of the jungle. Flush toilets and showers (cold water) were a great addition. The owners were very attentive and made sure we had everything we needed and placed torches and candles out at night to guide us around. Don't expect a lot of sleep though, the howler monkeys tend to wake you more than once per night - but that was one of the highlights to be honest!! The best 2 days of our 2 week trip. The little restaurant in town had set menus but it was great food and you could tell they took pride in their cooking.
Written March 14, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BBSF12345
San Francisco, CA171 contributions
Nov 2015 • Friends
don't miss this - it is why most travelers come to this region. you walk up two of the ruins. very safe and easy. and the restaurant in the park is wonderful - like eating lunch at a restaurant in the middle of the jungle
Written December 8, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Boris T
Singapore, Singapore26 contributions
Sep 2015 • Solo
It was great in the sense of being the less famous site. I was pretty much the only person there. The site is not as impressive or developed as Tikal but gives a different expirience. With no guide with you, you are free to roam thr ruins and imagine how this mayan city use to look like. The site itself is pretty big. The mirado gives a great lookout to the lake and some buildings.
Written September 24, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
epp123
28 contributions
Apr 2015 • Friends
I did the dawn tour and it really was amazing listening to the jungle wake up in the morning. Something like gorillas in the mist as it was a bit cloudy the day I did it. Our guide was very passionate and loved his work. Really recommend doing this.
Written August 23, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Carol B
Florida403 contributions
Jul 2014 • Solo
Uaxactún is quite different it is within a quiet sleepy little village. It is 23 km (15 miles) on the north side of Tikal Park, but the road there was rough and took me over an hour to drive there. The road was very dry and dusty so when I arrived, my wonderful green Toyota 4Runner was now white with dust and in desperate need of a washing.
This site is far less developed than the Tikal but still well worth a visit; this one is situated within the confines of a working community so you need to walk throughout the village to get to the different sections of the site.
This site is far less developed than the Tikal but still well worth a visit; this one is situated within the confines of a working community so you need to walk throughout the village to get to the different sections of the site.
Written July 15, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
volkerd1111
Bammental, Germany54 contributions
Aug 2019
Areas A and B were definitely worth to visit.
In August we were allone. No other tourists.
You need to buy the ticket at the entrance of the park (where you buy the ticket for Tikal). Additionally you need a permit for your car, which you get at the administration close to the entrance to the Tikal ruins.
In August we were allone. No other tourists.
You need to buy the ticket at the entrance of the park (where you buy the ticket for Tikal). Additionally you need a permit for your car, which you get at the administration close to the entrance to the Tikal ruins.
Written August 29, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
El parque cuenta con reglamento o regulaciones para el uso del parqueo y el parque en general?
Written June 16, 2018
El lugar es resguardado mas que todo por los pobladores, hay areas de parqueo e instrucciones en cada templo....recomendable contratar al guia del Inguat para las dudas de uso.
Written June 16, 2018
We will be renting a car in Flores in a few weeks, and driving to Tikal/staying 2 nights in the jungle. Thinking we could just drive to Uaxactun. I've read about the parking pass and where to pay- I'm just a little confused about driving there. Google maps says 20 min from Tikal, but when I'm reading people are saying it takes hours....wanted to confirm- is it roughly a 20 min drive to the Uaxactun ruins? I recognize it's not the best road for potholes and what not.
Also, would anyone recommend say- sunrise in Tikal and sunset in Uaxactun?
Also- does anyone know if the tickets for both sites good for 24 hours?
Thanks!
Written February 22, 2018
I was there a few months ago, stayed in Flores on the other side of the bay in a great little place that overlooked the water and was very cheap 'Hostal San Miguel' just get the car ferry over that runs continously for less than a dollar. Then I drove to both Tikal and Uaxactun each day i visited. Tikal is about an hour drive with good roads. Uaxactun was a few hours because the road from the CA13 is very bad and I struggled in my rental SUV. If I was to do it again I would get a tour bus to Uaxactun from Flores and back because that bad road really could have damaged the rental, I was very lucky. I was told they are not too regular but at least once a day. Tikal to Uaxactun is at least a couple of hours maybe more. I would do both sunset and sunrise at Uaxactun because its far better than Tikal in my opinion, far less touristy, alot more overgrown and natural with alot more freedom, The howler monkeys are also awesome.
Written February 22, 2018
Hi,
Which cruise ship dock are you talking about? Those ruins are quite inland so I doubt very much it would be an easy day trip...
Anyway, if you're having a cruise, the company surely organises this trip if possible according to the time allowed ashore.
When we visit the ruins we stayed in Flores and it was an hour drive by minivan if I remember well.
I hope this will help.
Happy new year.
Written December 31, 2017
I want to visit there in this March, spring equinox.
But I have no idea how to.
please let me know it.
Written January 13, 2017
Hi Miyozo,
In order to see the sunrise at the ruins you would defenitely need to stay a night in Uaxactun. Could be a tent (your or rented) or cabins of donia Neria. This sis simply because of the fact that no one will allow you to drive through the park at night - and the road to Uaxactun goes through the Tikal ruins that are oficially closed till 8 am.
I would suggest more - to meet one sunrise at Tikal ruins (Temple IV), and just the nex day (equinox) at Uaxactun. The reason - the one at Tikal is way more spectacular as you see the horison from the highest temple of the complex, far above the forrest, and in Uaxactun, as far as I remember, the horison is pretty much closed by the trees in every of "e-groups" (the complexes of buildings used to watch equinoxes and solstices), so the actual sunrise would be more a symbolical action.
In that route, you would need to stay one night at one of the hotels in Tikal park area, arrange "sunrise watching tour" - it is oficially approved and the organised groups are taken to the Temple VI before the sunrise and before the oficial opening hour of the park. Then spend the rest of the day among beautiful temples of Tikal, and proceed to Uaxactun at afternoon with someone you would hire as transportation and guide. You may spend the rest of the day exploring the ruins of Uaxactun, get know the local comunity of xateros, adn visit the museum of mayan artifacts of donia Neria. Next morning you would be ready for the sunrize at Uaxactun then.
Written January 18, 2017
I want to book a night camping in the ruins, has anyone done this? Can you give me a reliable tour company for this? I am concerned about some of the operations I see advertising this tour on their sites, they don't look legit to me. Thanks!
Written October 27, 2016
Hi Derrick,
Here is reliable and very good company I work for many years in this region with - Toursguatemala (other name Turismo Aventura). They are located in Flores, Peten.
They have good ties with local comunity in Uaxactun and with Dona Neria in particular - a wolrd famous brave woman who holds rich collection of mayan artifacts right there in Uaxactun in a small museum, and provides space for camping along with rustic cabins, kitchen, shower etc. - everything a backpacker may need there.
You may say hello to Billy from Toursguatemala and Neria from Uaxactun from me to get an even better sevice :)
Sergio R
Written October 28, 2016
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