Tikal is a large complex of Mayan ruins, tucked away in the steamy rainforest of Guatemala, north of the city of Flores. 

Around 1000 AD the site was abandoned and left as prey for the hungry rainforest.
It was not until the 1850's that the heavily overgrown ruins were rediscovered. 
The  Penn State Tikal Project  greatly enhanced our knowledge of Mayan history and culture, but excavations continue and generate new insights.
Tikal National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1971 and is a major tourist destination.

Tikal's real name was Yax Mutal, capital of a major kingdom that dominated the Classic Maya region from 200 to 900 AD. The city even had links with Teotihuacan. 
Yax Mutal's rulers built huge pyramids, temples, palaces and tombs and at its heydays there may well have lived 400.000 people in or near the thriving city. 

Yax Mutal did not escape the sudden and mysterious collapse of Maya civilization and by 950 the city was deserted except for a few squatters..

We visited Tikal on a cloudy and steamy hot day in September 1998.