The sun is setting deep in the Guatemalan jungle, soon to sink behind a green, quilted canopy – and I’ve got the best seat in the house. I’m 77 metres high, legs dangling atop a 3,000-year-old temple named La Danta.
It’s taken me three days to get here and it’s another two back out. This is an almighty 100km hike through dense jungle, where the heat wraps around me like a wet wool blanket and knotted tree roots collude with low hanging vines to make every step a challenge.
Sitting in the great, ancient city of El Mirador, however, it all seems worthwhile, as sunlight tints the sky hazy orange hues and dragonflies dance in and out of view. Once the capital of a network of more than 200 ancient Mayan cities, this is where an estimated 200,000 people once lived, before they abandoned it nearly 2,000 years ago and the jungle swallowed it whole. Only about 10 per cent of it has been excavated to date.
I begin my journey by travelling to a small village called Carmelita within the Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala. This is where I meet my guide, Santiago Juarez – a born-and-raised local and member of the Carmelita Cooperative, who settled in the area in the 1900s to farm chewing gum sap, one of the main industries at the time.
Aside from being the only group authorised by the government to run jungle treks in the reserve, the community protect and conserve the 530km square vast stretch of land, which in addition to once being the home of an ancient civilisation, is today described by Unesco as a place “of maximum importance” for the conservation of species in Guatemala, and for its richness of flora and fauna.
Read more: ‘We need to connect, not conquer’: Lucy Shepherd on surviving jungle wilderness
There are up to 2,800 vascular plants here, not to mention jaguars, cougars, monkeys and up to 513 bird species (71 per cent of the national total). It is also home to seven species of scorpion, five species of tarantula and 106 reptile species (some of which we met).
On the last day, our group is graced with a show-stopping moment, as a rhinoceros-sized, muddy tapir slowly lumbers through a pond a mere 30ft away from us. Typically, nocturnal and elusive by nature, this is a rare sighting. As such, this hike is as much about the wealth of nature you can experience, as it is the incredible history you discover.
Set up to promote sustainable tourism activities, the Carmelita Cooperative ensures 80 per cent of the income generated is distributed directly back into the community, with the remaining 20 per cent used for administration expenses. With tourism being a critical source of income for Guatemala, tours like this one are hugely beneficial to the local community and the protection of the surrounding environment.
It’s from Carmelita that we set off on foot towards our first Mayan city – El Tintal – my small bumbag stocked with plasters and plenty of bug spray, and the mules loaded with five days of food supplies.
Oh, what smiles and springs in our steps we have in these tender early stages! Single file, our small group follows Santiago through the vegetation as we chat and get to know each other – and with two doctors, a nurse and a former army veteran in our midst, we’re in good company should anything go awry.
Read more: The unexpected destination that is perfect for an adventure holiday
Three hours in, however, the jungle’s humidity has become a burden and the spring in our step is definitely on the wane. This is when Santiago stops dead in his tracks and points to patch on the ground by his foot. “Jaguar!” he grins. In the mud, I see a perfectly formed, large paw print. A thrill of excitement buzzes through me. This is a real, unvarnished adventure.
We reach the first camp site near El Tintal by the afternoon, greeted by 70-year-old Maria, who is travelling ahead of us with the mules to prepare our lunch and evening meals. She adds a couple of logs to a woodburning stove to heat up pots of refried beans and chicken stew for dinner and begins to ball up dough, which soon becomes steaming stacks of fresh corn tortillas (a staple to every Guatemalan meal).
I discover that Maria is not only Santiago’s mum, but something of a hiking pioneer who has been travelling this route for more than 30 years. She was guiding tourists through the jungle before the cooperative officially formed in 1998 and only switched to cooking about six years ago (although that doesn’t stop her from walking some of the route with us).
That evening, we climb our first temple for a beautiful sunset before heading back to our camp, the line of our head-torches bobbing nervously through the dark. Early to bed for a good night’s sleep? Not so, as we are woken around 3am by thunderous growls from the depths of the jungle around us. I sit up fearfully in my tent. The jaguar tracking us down for a nighttime snack, perhaps? Not quite, as Santiago explains later over breakfast, but a group of small but infamously noisy howler monkeys with their morning wake-up call.
With 24km ahead of us to reach El Mirador, we set off by 6am, leaving behind the group of blue-headed ocellated turkeys that roam the camp. Somewhere between a turkey, a peacock and an alien lifeform, they are the first of several jaw-dropping birds we see that day, including a keel-billed toucan, the near-threatened crested guan and an ornate hawk eagle sitting on its nest. Santiago, a keen birder, points them out with an infectious enthusiasm.
It’s early afternoon by the time we reach our second campsite at El Mirador. Enough time to explore the crumbling structures of La Muerta before heading back to slump in hammocks, tend to our feet with a patchwork of plasters and prepare for a bracing (yet strangely satisfying) bucket shower under the stars.
As I hurry back to my tent wrapped in a towel, taking care not to step on anything unpleasant or deadly, I hear a shriek from a fellow camper. “Oh my god! We just saw a tarantula the size of my hand right next to our tent!” Sweet dreams all round then everyone.
The following day is spent exploring the El Mirador archaeological site, where we visit Garra de Jaguar temple (built around 150BC) and finally, La Danta – the largest building in the Maya area; its base so big, we’re told it could fit 17 football pitches within. We climb the mighty structure in stages as the sun starts to dip. Trees intertwine with the temple bricks from years of cohabitation, both now totally dependent upon one and other.
Reaching the top, we all find the perfect seat for the grand finale, as hazy orange hues start to fill the sky. I take a good look around. Nothing for miles, just an endless sea of green. Humps of ancient temples yet to be uncovered beneath the foliage. A view so perfect that I almost forget about the colossal hike that awaits us the following day.
How to do it
Robyn went on Lokal Travel’s 5-Day Mayan Jungle Expedition to El Mirador, which starts at $290 (£227) per person for groups of 4 or more. She was a guest of Lokal Travel who work closely with local communities like Carmelita Cooperative to create more sustainable travel experiences.
Where to stay
For some post-trek pampering, Robyn was a guest of Bolontiku Hotel, located on Lake Petén Itzá, where she arrived by boat and was greeted with a mocktail on arrival.
