Maya heartlands
John Proctor Travel on a timely visit to Ruta Maya
Interestingly, one of the best ways to shun the hype about the impending 2012 apocalypse is to plan a trip to the Maya heartlands of Central America. For those who aren’t paying attention, the end of the world is said to be less than a month away (21/12/12). However, although the date (which signifies the end of the current “Baktun” in the intricate Mayan Long Count calendar) is generally held to threaten some form of cataclysmic shift, in fact it’s more likely the Ancient Maya would look to it as a time for celebration.
For a fascinating insight into Mayan culture both past and present the headline destination has to be Guatemala (though the Ruta Maya traverses southern Mexico, Belize and Honduras also). Guatemala’s highlights include ancient Maya cities shrouded by jungle; highland towns and villages where today’s Maya continue to farm maize and trade in bustling local markets; and the opportunity to experience modern day ceremonial ritual first hand.
Tourism in Guatemala is big business, and so it should be: other than the Mayan heritage, the country boasts stunning scenery including dramatic volcanic terrain, awesome limestone caves and natural pools, plus waterfalls, lakes and beaches. Accommodation is available in a range of styles from beautifully restored haciendas, to private Fincas (farms) with tree house cabins, to small family run pensiones. The food, in my opinion, is among the best in the world with avocado, chillies, tortillas, frijoles (beans) and fried plantain featuring heavily on local menus, but with plentiful tourist menus boasting pancakes, pastries, smoothies and pizza to keep things interesting.
Several projects exist across Guatemala to promote eco-tourism with one of note being the Puerta al Mundo Maya (Gateway to the Maya World), a group of attractions monitored as low-impact, sustainable tourism sites which can benefit the local community. This innovative community tourism project is supported by, among others, National Geographic, and the sites, which are scattered across two states, include cave paintings that you rappel down to reach, turquoise lagoons, river canyons for tubing and of course Mayan ruins, including the mighty El Mirador, buried deep in the jungle and thought to be the first great city of the Mayan world.
El Mirador and other great sites like its neighbour Tikal, were abandoned by the Maya for reasons unknown and it is perhaps this inexplicable fall of a once great civilization that feeds the 2012 Apocalypto visions of our own future. If nothing else the Long Count calendar will be clocking into a new era next month and if we want to know more about what the future holds it’d be wise to look and learn from the past and the Ruta Maya provides a compelling backdrop to do just this.
John Proctor Travel, 4 Church Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1UJ,
01273 608351,
leisure@johnproctortravel.com,
www.johnproctortravel.com
