NARANJO

NARANJO PARK

INFORMATION ON THE NARANJO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

A warrior city of great artistic production, ruled for decades by a woman.

Located 21 km from Yaxha, Naranjo is the largest archaeological site in the Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park and was included by the World Monuments Fund among the 100 most important ancient cities in the world, urged to be rescued and preserved.

Naranjo, possibly known as Saal, was a warrior city and was strategically located between the Holmul and Mopan river basins, which were the natural routes that connected the Maya World of northeast Petén with other cities in Belize and with the coast of the sea. . Caribbean. It had an occupation of 1,600 years, from the Middle Preclassic to possibly the Postclassic (800 BC - 850 AD) and held a key position with respect to the most powerful and belligerent cities of the time, Tikal, Caracol (Belize) and Calakmul (Mexico ).

Naranjo's luck was marked by his performance in the war since, after the death of the king after a devastating war led by Calakmul (the main enemy of Tikal) and his allies, Calakmul took a princess named Six Sky to replant a new line dynastic. She ruled on behalf of her son, Smoky Squirrel, as he grew up and learned royalty. However, the untimely death of her son forced Lady Six Sky to rule the city for more than 30 years. One of his greatest victories was the capture of the ruler of Yaxha and the burning of said city.

Naranjo's size is monumental, with 389 buildings in the central area and around 2,500 buildings in the suburban residential area. Its buildings are of great architectural complexity and there are iconographic evidences that have revealed much of the history of the region. Naranjo was also a city of great artistic production; Some of the best quality ceramic paintings in the Mayan World come from this site. Currently, it is considered a sacred center, especially venerated by the Mayan women of the area.

During your visit, you will be able to appreciate the work carried out by researchers and archaeologists in the area since the Central Acropolis is undergoing restoration works, the complex where the palace that Senora Seis Cielo inhabited is located.

ACCESS

To get to Naranjo you must enter the archaeological site of Yaxha and request the guide service of the Association of Guides of the Tourist Community of Yaxha. During the dry season (March to May), the Association for the Integral Development of the Yaxha Region provides transportation in all-terrain vehicles. The rest of the year it can be accessed on horseback, on foot or by bicycle.

To visit Naranjo it is essential that you are accompanied by a guide (we recommend hiring the services of the Yaxha Tourist Community Guides Association) and you need approximately two hours to tour the entire site. If you enter by vehicle, you can go to Naranjo and return in a single day. If you go horseback, foot or bicycle, you must stay in the camp. The duration of the horse ride is approximately six hours; five hours on foot and one hour by bicycle. The walking and biking trail is quite rugged and requires good physical condition to ride.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Bring comfortable clothes and shoes. To avoid mosquito bites, we recommend bringing cool, long-sleeved clothing.

Insect repellent is very important for a pleasant stay.

The sun at noon is quite strong, we recommend that you bring sunscreen and a hat.

The region is humid so it never hurts to wear a waterproof layer.

If you go camping you must bring all your equipment: tent, sleeping bags, water and other implements (at the moment the Park does not rent equipment).

Inside the archaeological sites there are no sales of any kind, we recommend you bring your drinks and food. Remember to deposit the garbage in the appropriate containers, or better yet, take it to the nearest city.

In Yaxha there is a nursing post that provides first aid, but if you require special medications or if you are going to visit another of the archaeological sites in the Park, we recommend that you bring a basic first aid kit and the medicines you should take.