How tall, how old, how big and how much. Here are the numbers for Tikal from the ministry, UNESCO and the archaeologists who dug the site, and where two sources give different figures, you get both. Short of time? The Tikal day trips by air fit the whole city into a single day.
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| Official name | Parque Nacional Tikal (Tikal National Park) |
| Where | Flores municipality, Petén department, Guatemala |
| Run by | Guatemala’s Ministry of Culture and Sports |
| National monument | 1931 |
| National park | 26 May 1955 |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | 1979, a mixed site: cultural and natural |
| UNESCO criteria | (i), (iii), (iv), (ix) and (x) |
| Area | 57,600 ha, or 576 km² (UNESCO); CONAP gives 55,224 ha |
| Inner urban zone | About 400 ha |
| Wider archaeological zone | About 1,200 ha, with more than 25 secondary sites |
| Maya Biosphere Reserve | Declared 30 January 1990; more than 2 million ha, Tikal a core zone |
| Visitors in 2024 | 372,593 |
Tikal is one of the few World Heritage sites listed for both its culture and its nature. The park and the World Heritage property share one boundary. Around them lies the Maya Biosphere Reserve, a far larger protected forest in which Tikal is one of the core zones.
| Structure | Height | Date | Climbed today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temple IV | About 65 m from its platform; some 70 m to the roof comb | AD 741 | Yes |
| Temple V | About 57 m | About AD 700 | No |
| Temple III | About 55 m | About AD 810 | No |
| Temple I | About 45 m (145 ft); the ministry gives about 47 m | After 734 | No |
| Temple II | About 38 m | Before Temple I | Yes, by the rear stairs |
| Lost World Great Pyramid | About 31 m | Late Preclassic | Yes |
| Temple VI | A 12 m roof comb | AD 766 | No |
Temple IV is the tallest structure at Tikal and one of the tallest the Maya ever built. It is not the tallest pre-Columbian structure in the Americas, as it is often called: La Danta at El Mirador is taller. Its height depends on where you measure from, which is why two figures are given. Temples I and II face each other across the Great Plaza, and the Lost World pyramid is the oldest of the group. Climbing is from travel reports; the park can close a staircase.
| Fact | Figure |
|---|---|
| Structures mapped in the 16 km² core | More than 3,000 |
| Restored today | About 20%; about 80% lies under forest as mounds |
| Rulers recorded | 33 |
| Peak population | Roughly 45,000–62,000 in the eighth century, over about 120 km² |
| Twin-pyramid complexes | 9 |
| Carved wooden lintels known | 7; parts of two still in place |
| Vaulted chambers in Group G | 29 |
| Jade beads in the Burial 116 collar | 114, weighing 8.5 lb |
| Carved bones in Burial 116 | 37 of 89 catalogued |
| LiDAR survey, 2016 | 2,144 km² scanned; 61,480 structures across the region |
The jade and the carved bones come from the tomb of Jasaw Chan K'awiil I under Temple I, found in 1962. The palaces of the Central Acropolis and the royal tombs of the North Acropolis are among the restored fifth. The population range is the scholarly consensus; higher figures circulate, but this is the range the survey work supports.
| Monument | Date | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Stela 29 | AD 292 | The earliest dated monument (Long Count 8.12.14.8.15), found in 1959 |
| Stela 31 | AD 445 | The accession of Siyaj Chan K'awiil II; records the arrival of January 378 |
| Temple IV lintels | AD 741 | Built for Yik'in Chan K'awiil |
| Temple IV Lintel 3 | 743 | Victory over El Perú (Waka’) |
| Temple VI | AD 766 | Dedicated; its roof comb carries the glyphs |
| Stela 22, Complex Q | AD 771 | Set up by Yax Nuun Ayiin II |
| Complex R | 790 | A twin-pyramid complex by the Maler Causeway |
| Temple III | About AD 810 | The last major pyramid |
| Stela 11 | AD 869 | The last dated monument, set up by Jasaw Chan K'awiil II |
Between the first and the last dated monument lie 577 years. From 562 to 692 not one dated monument was raised at all, a gap known as the Hiatus. Stela 11 now stands in the Museo Lítico at the Visitor Centre.
| Group | Figure |
|---|---|
| Higher plants | More than 2,000, including 200 tree species |
| Mammals | More than 100, including over 60 bats and 5 cats |
| Birds | More than 330 species (UNESCO); 333 in the 1979 evaluation file |
| Reptiles | More than 100, including 38 snakes |
| Amphibians | 25 |
| Spider monkeys | 56.4 per km² at Tikal, against 17.2 at Calakmul |
| Yucatán black howlers | 17.8 per km², in troops of 8.7 on average |
| Coati troops | From four or five animals to as many as 30 |
| Migrant wood-warblers | Up to 35 species, October to April |
The five cats are the jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay and jaguarundi. The howler monkeys here are Yucatán black howlers. Birding guides report more than 400 species in the park; UNESCO’s figure is more than 330. The ocellated turkey, found only in south-east Mexico, Belize and northern Guatemala, is near-threatened.
| What | Figure |
|---|---|
| Park entrance | Q150 foreign visitors; Q25 Guatemalans with DPI |
| Sunrise or sunset ticket | Q100 on top of the entrance; Q20 Guatemalans |
| Museum ticket | Q30; Q5 Guatemalans |
| Camping | Q50; Q10 Guatemalans |
| Children | Free under 10, any nationality |
| Regular hours | 06:00–18:00, every day of the year |
| Sunrise entry | About 04:00–06:00, with a guide |
| Sunset entry | About 18:00–20:00, with a guide |
| Museums | 08:00–16:00, daily |
| Ticket validity | Up to 30 days from purchase; used up on the day it is scanned |
| Flores to the park | About 64 km, 1 to 1¼ hours by road |
| Outer gate to Visitor Centre | About 17 km (the ministry rounds it to 20) |
| Visitor Centre to Great Plaza | About 1.3 km on foot |
| Guatemala City | 484 km, about nine hours by road |
The park’s fees are set in quetzales and have not changed since at least 2021. Buy them online, at any Bantrab branch, or in cash at the Bantrab window at the outer gate. For a sunrise visit, buy before the day: the gate window is reported to open at 06:00, after sunrise entry has begun. The fees are not refundable.
The tallest temple: Temple IV tops Tikal, not the Americas. La Danta at El Mirador is taller.
The museums: they are not in the Q150 entrance. The museum ticket is a separate Q30.
The defeat of 562: it is often pinned on one city. The record says only that Tikal lost a war recorded at Caracol, probably to an alliance that included Calakmul.
The closing time: the park closes at 18:00, every day of the year, holidays included. Only the museums close earlier, at 16:00.
In March 1977 a three-man film crew spent five days on Temple IV. They filmed east over the canopy towards the Great Plaza, for the rebel base on Yavin 4 in the first Star Wars. Temples II and III show above the forest in the approach of the Millennium Falcon. The scene of the heroes at the temple entrance was not filmed here: it was shot at RAF Cardington, in England.
The lowest fare: a 3:00am pickup in Flores or Santa Elena and about seven hours in the park, starting with the sunrise from Temple IV. The park and sunrise tickets are extra.
From $48 per person · park ticket extra
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Sunrise from Temple IV, breakfast at the top, then the north and west of the city, in a group of up to nine. Lunch is included; the park and sunrise fees are extra.
From $98 per person · lowest pickup option · park + sunrise fee extra
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A 3:40am pickup in Antigua, flights to Flores and back, about four hours guided at Temples I, II and IV, lunch and the park entrance fee. Non-refundable.
From $465 per person · park ticket included
Check AvailabilityFees and hours are the ministry’s; the rest comes from UNESCO and the archaeological record. Check the fees before you travel.
The story behind the dates is on the history of Tikal, the animals on Tikal nature and wildlife, and every tour on Tikal National Park Tours.