adventure — By Vawn on February 5, 2010 at 6:00 am
Filed under: ancient civilizations, Angkor, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, Chichen Itza, egypt, El Mirador, featuredarticle, Great Pyramid, Inca Trail, Machu Picchu, Peru, Ruins, Tikal

Best places to discover lost civilizations

Perhaps it’s because I recently saw Cairo Time, a brilliant movie by writer/director Ruba Nadda, at Canada’s Top Ten film festival, that I’ve had ruins on my mind. I have yet to see the Pyramids of Giza, but I’ve spent years traveling to destinations to see what remains of ancient civilizations. Here’s a small sampling of my favourite sites (so far):

El Mirador, Guatemala – Mayan ruins can be found throughout Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Perhaps the most popular site, however, is Chichen Itza, simply because of its proximity to the resort community of Cancun – but this, in my mind, is just a starting point. The first time I saw Tikal, one of the largest Classic Mayan cities, I was in awe of the temples towering above the jungles of Guatemala. But if you hike for a couple of days through the jungle, you’ll encounter even larger and more complex temple complexes in the lost city of El Mirador and dozens of other unexcavated sites (I don’t recommend doing this on your own – it’s extremely easy to get lost). Even better, you’ll likely be the only one there, aside from the archeologists. I’ll write more about how to do this in a future blog.

Machu Picchu, Peru – Though this site attracts swarms of tourists, there’s good reason. This ancient Incan city is an architectural marvel featuring precisely sculpted mortarless stonework, perched atop a mountain surrounded by the cloud forests of the Andes. To avoid the crowds, opt to hike the Inca Trail (there’s more than one route open to the public nowadays). Along the way you’ll encounter Incan ruins that are only accessible on the trail, which means in many cases you can explore them in relative isolation. Then, get up early (say, 3:30am, to hike in the dark to the Sun Gates to watch the sun rise over Machu Picchu) – it’s worth it to beat the tourist train from Cuzco.

Angkor, Cambodia – Most people go to Cambodia specifically to see these ancient Khmer ruins (though personally I think that’s a shame – there’s a lot more to experience in Cambodia, but that’s another blog…). The site is massive – you literally need days to see it all (and you’ll probably be “templed out” before you manage it). Your best bet is to research the sites ahead of time, decide what you want to see and then organize transport (rent a car or moto, hire a driver for the day or rent a bicycle, but keep in mind riding around in the heat can make you slightly insane).

If you only want to see the main sites, such as Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm (featured in the first Tomb Raider flick), then you probably only need a one-day pass. If you want to see the outlying ruins, however, I’d recommend a three-day or even seven-day pass, which you can purchase at the official ticket booth located about 2km from Angkor Wat. One of my favourite sites is Banteay Srei, which means “citadel of the women,” made of intricately carved pink sandstone – it’s out of the way, so you have to make an effort to get here. Some of these sites were off limits to tourists until a few years ago, so don’t stray off the beaten path – there are still land mines around.

In my next few blogs, I’ll continue with some of my favourite picks, including Borobudur in Indonesia.

Photo Credit: Chi King @ Flickr