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The vast northern department of Peten occupies about a third of Guatemala but contains less than three percent of its population. This huge expanse of swamps, dry savannas and tropical rainforest forms part of an untamed wilderness that stretches into the Lacandon forest of southern Mexico and across the Maya Mountains to Belize. Totally unlike any other part of the country, much of it is all-but-untouched, with ancient ceiba and mahogany trees that tower 50m above the forest floor. Undisturbed for so long, the area is also extraordinarily rich in wildlife . Some 285 species of bird have been sighted at Tikal alone, including a great range of hummingbirds, toucans, blue and white herons, hawks, buzzards, wild turkeys, motmot (a bird of paradise) and even the elusive quetzal, revered since Maya times. Beneath the forest canopy are many other species that are far harder to locate. Among the mammals are the massive tapir or mountain cow, ocelots, deer, coatis, jaguars, monkeys, plus crocodiles and thousands of species of plants, snakes, insects and butterflies. Recently, however, this position of privileged isolation has been threatened by moves to colonize the country's final frontier. Waves of settlers , originally lured by offers of free land, have cleared enormous tracts of jungle, while oil exploration and commercial logging have cut new roads deep into the forest. The population of Peten, just 15,000 in 1950, is today estimated at over 400,000, a number which puts enormous pressure on the remaining forest. Various attempts have been made to halt the tide of destruction, and in 1990 the government declared that forty percent of Peten would be protected by the Maya Biosphere Reserve , although little is done to enforce this. The new interest in the region is in fact something of a reawakening, as Peten was once the heartland of the Maya civilization , which reached here from the highlands some 2500 years ago. Maya culture reached the height of its architectural, scientific and artistic achievement during the Classic period (roughly 300-900 AD), when great cities rose out of the forest, and the ruins at Tikal and El Mirador, among the most spectacular of all Maya sites , represent only a fraction of what was once here. At the close of the tenth century the cities were mysteriously abandoned, and many of the people moved north to the Yucatan, where Maya civilization continued to flourish until the twelfth century. By the time the Spanish arrived, the area had been partially recolonized by the Itza , a group of Toltec-Maya who inhabited the land around Lago de Peten Itza. The forest proved so impenetrable however that it wasn't brought under Spanish control until 1697, more than 150 years after they had conquered the rest of the country. The Spanish had little enthusiasm for Peten, though, and under their rule it remained a backwater. Independence saw no great change, and it wasn't until 1970 that Peten became genuinely accessible by car. Even today the network of roads is skeletal, and many routes are impassable in the wet season. The twin lakeside towns of Flores and Santa Elena form the hub of the department. You'll probably arrive here, if only to head straight out to the ruins of Tikal , Peten's prime attraction, though the town is also the starting-point for adventures to more distant ruins - El Mirador, El Zotz and Rio Azul . Halfway between Flores and Tikal is the tranquil alternative base of El Remate . The caves and scenery around Poptun , on the main highway south, justify exploration, while down the other road south, Sayaxche is surrounded by yet more Maya sites. From Sayaxche you can set off into Mexico and the ruins of Yaxchilan either via the road to Bethel, or along the Rio Pasion.
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