Between Templo IV and Templo III is Complejo N, an example of the 'twin-temple' complexes erected during the Late Classic Period. This one was built in AD 711 by Ah Cacao to mark the 14th katun, or 20-year cycle, of baktún 9. The king himself is portrayed on the remarkably preserved stela 16 in an enclosure just across the path. Beside the stelae is altar 5, a circular stone depicting the same king accompanied by a priestly figure in the process of exhuming the skeleton of a female ruler.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
18.27 MILES
The Classic Maya sites of Yaxhá, Nakum and El Naranjo form a triangle that is the basis for a national park covering more than 37,000 hectares and…
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0.42 MILES
Templo I, the Templo del Gran Jaguar (Temple of the Grand Jaguar), was built to honor – and bury – Ah Cacao. The king may have worked out the plans for…
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0.06 MILES
Templo IV, at 65m, is the highest building at Tikal and the second-highest pre-Columbian building known in the western hemisphere, after La Danta at El…
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0.48 MILES
The most striking feature of Tikal is its towering, steep-sided temples, rising to heights of more than 44m, but what distinguishes it is its jungle…
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East Acropolis & Structure 216
18.47 MILES
Near the site entrance is the high point of Yaxhá (literally): Structure 216 in the East Acropolis. Also called the Temple of the Red Hands, because red…
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26.48 MILES
Covering the western end of the San Miguel peninsula are the remains of Tayazal, among the last of the Maya capitals. The chiefly Classic-era mounds are…
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0.23 MILES
About 400m southwest of the Gran Plaza is El Mundo Perdido (Lost World), a complex of 38 structures with a huge pyramid in its midst, thought to be…
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0.39 MILES
The Acropolis del Norte predates the nearby temples significantly. Archaeologists have uncovered about 100 different structures, the oldest of which dates…
Nearby Tikal attractions
0.06 MILES
Templo IV, at 65m, is the highest building at Tikal and the second-highest pre-Columbian building known in the western hemisphere, after La Danta at El…
0.17 MILES
A smaller temple to the western side of El Mundo Perdido, dates from the Early Classic Period, and demonstrates Teotihuacán's influence, with its talud…
0.22 MILES
West of the Gran Plaza, across the Calzada Tozzer (Tozzer Causeway) stands Templo III, still undergoing restoration. Only its upper reaches have been…
0.23 MILES
About 400m southwest of the Gran Plaza is El Mundo Perdido (Lost World), a complex of 38 structures with a huge pyramid in its midst, thought to be…
0.31 MILES
To the west of the Acrópolis del Sur is this broad grassy plaza, reached via a path to its southern edge. Built in the Late Classic Period, the seven…
0.35 MILES
Templo II, also known as the Temple of the Masks, was at one time almost as high as Templo I, but it now measures only 38m without its roofcomb. It's best…
0.38 MILES
Excavation has hardly even begun on the mass of masonry just west of the temple, known collectively as the Acrópolis del Sur (South Acropolis). The…
0.39 MILES
The Acropolis del Norte predates the nearby temples significantly. Archaeologists have uncovered about 100 different structures, the oldest of which dates…