Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo is an extensive park that shelters four different Maya cities –Yaxhá, Nakum, Naranjo, and the Island of Topoxté. The park is also declared a wetland of global significance and is home to a great variety of migratory birds. The ancient city of Yaxhá, located on the banks of the Sacnab and Yaxhá lagoons, presents a unique landscape.
Yaxhá is one of the largest Maya cities in Petén. Together with the other cities in this park, it played an essential role in the social and political organization of the Central Maya Lowlands. This city was inhabited from the Middle Preclassic (1000 – 350 BC) to the Postclassic (900 – 1200 AD). It reached its highest development during the Early Classic, maintaining an essential role in the Maya World for over 1,500 years. Its political history is known from carved monuments at the site.
In Yaxhá there’s evidence of the use of the Solar Calendar or Haab as there are architectural complexes, known as E Group, that were used to mark the solar cycle (solstices and equinoxes). There is also a Twin Pyramids Complex, similar to the one in Tikal, which was used to mark and celebrate the K´atun cycles (approximately 20 years) of the Long Count Calendar.
The four cities within this park are still of great importance and are visited by several Maya groups to celebrate religious ceremonies. The most common places for these ceremonies are the East Acropolis and the Maler Group in Yaxhá and the Island of Topoxté.
By Guatemala Tourism Commission.
Guatemala Tours by Martsam Travel Call: USA (305) 395 3935
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