Tours in Copán: Mayan Archaeological Park
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This magnificent park, located in the Copan Valley, has been a major source of information regarding the ancient Maya civilization. Copan has always been referred to as the most artistically advanced and elaborate of all the Maya cities. Copan was declared a heritage of humanity site in 1980 by UNESCO, and continuous study of the city by archaeologists for over a century make it the most studied city of the Maya.
Although the park itself is enclosed, the legacy of the Maya can be found throughout the valley. The principal attractions are the main park, "Las Sepulturas", "Los Sapos" , the stelae surrounding the valley and the two museums: the Museum or Archaeology, located in the town and the Museum of Maya Sculpture, located within the Visitors Center area of the Park.
The park has five basic areas of interest: The Ball Court, considered the social center of the city. This park is by far the most artistic ball court in Meso-America. Unique to it are the markers on the side walls, resembling macaw heads. The final work done on this ball court goes back to the days of ruler 18 Rabbit.
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The Great Plaza. Famous for its stelae and altars that are scattered around this immense plaza. Most of the stelaes that are standing today were erected during the times of the 13th ruler, known as 18 Rabbit between the years 711 and 736. Many of the altars have a zoomorphic form.
The Hieroglyphic Stairway. This unique temple holds the longest known text left to us by the ancient Maya civilization. It was erected by ruler number 15, known as Smoke-Shell and is believed to be a lineage tree, recording the ascension and death of all Copan rulers from Yax-Kuk-Mo to Smoke-Shell. The 5 portraits located in the stairway represent five successors to the dynasty. Unfortunately, the glyphs can not be read because the steps had all fallen out of place. Archaeologists rebuilt the temple, but had no way of knowing where each piece belonged. Today, this magnificent temple has an enormous tarp covering it to protect the steps from further erosion, which has unfortunately already damaged a great part of the glyphs.
The Acropolis. The acropolis is divided in two big plazas: the west court and the east court. The west court houses temple 11 and temple 16 with the unique altar Q set at its base. Temple 11 was built during the reign of Yax-Pac, and is his most significant architectural contribution to Copan. This very elaborate temple was meant to be his portal to the other world. Altar Q has now been completely "read" and depicts each (16) of the members of the Copan Dynasty, including Yax-Pac, seated on their own glyph. In it, the founder of the dynasty Yax-Kuk-Mo is passing the scepter of power directly to Yax-Pac.
Temple 16 is set between the east and the west court, and in its last stage, was finished by Yax-Pac. One unique aspect of this building is that for some reason, the previous standing temple was not defaced or "deactivated or terminated" but instead, a big effort to build on top of it without damaging it was made. This old temple, is known today as the "Rosa Lila Temple, or Temple of the Sun" and its discovery has helped archaeologists understand how Copan actually looked in its days of glory. The fine stucco masks of this building retain their original colors, and a replica of this temple is being made at the new museum of sculpture.