Lake Peten Itza

A 100-square-kilometre lake with the town of Flores on a small island near its southern shore. Boat tours from the eastern docks circle the island, stop at the small archaeological site on the Tayasal peninsula opposite, and continue out to the ARCAS wildlife centre or to swimming spots on the far shore. Half-day trips are easy to arrange on the morning of.

Swimming directly off Flores is not recommended — the water near town is dirty — but lake-edge beaches a few kilometres out (notably around El Remate on the eastern shore) are clean and quiet.

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A story
Lake Peten Itza was the heart of the Itza Maya kingdom for centuries after the collapse of Tikal — they ruled from the island in the middle of it until 1697, the last independent Maya state to fall to the Spanish. The lake has no obvious outflow; it loses water mostly to evaporation, which is why its level rises and falls dramatically with the rains. The slowly drowning shoreline along Santa Elena is the result.

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