Yaxha

The city has kept its original name, which is translated from the language of the Mayas as "green / blue water". Yaxha got its name because of two beautiful lakes, near which the ancient city was built. Like many of the ancient Mayan cities, Yaxha is among the jungle. A dirt road with potholes and pits leads to the place, and it is not so easy to reach here from the highway, so that there are less tourists here. At the reserve around Yaxha howler monkeys, jaguars, smaller mammals, snakes and crocodiles live.

History of Yaxha is known to a lesser extent, in comparison with other cities of the Maya, because of the small number of survived inscriptions on ancient buildings which are badly decayed. It is known that in the heyday (600-700 BC) about 20 thousand people lived here. However, the city was often subjected to raids of the tribes from neighboring towns Nakuma and Naranjo, and it greatly undermined the economy and was one of the reasons of Yaxha’s end.

About 500 archaeological monuments, including 9 pyramids, 40 steles, altars, two fields for ball games and other buildings were found and partially restored in the complex. The height of the Great Pyramid of Yaxha is more than 25 meters. Spectacular views of the lakes and their surrounding rainforest could be seen from its top. As in Tikal, there are two pyramids on the main square of Yaxha, but the second one is much smaller, and the steles between them are destroyed. Mayas made dams on the lake, one of them served as the main entrance to the city. There is a place for astronomical observations in Yashha.

The famous monuments of the ancient Mayan city are a complex of buildings known as the Royal Palace, where the ruler of the city lived with his family, the North Acropolis, Astronomical Complex, East Acropolis, Shadows Square and the complex of twin pyramids. All these buildings are connected by a system of roads and paved sidewalks.

With the neighboring towns of Naranjo and Nakum, to which in ancient times the city waged wars, Yaxha forms a triangle, and inside it there were not so great Mayan settlements. The ruins of ancient settlements remained, but they require a serious restoration work.