Temple IV

It’s another long walk, but follow your map and visit challenging Temple IV, the Temple of the Double-Headed Serpent. Facing east, it’s a popular spot from which to watch the sunrise. The platform itself has not been excavated, and only those in good physical condition will want to climb the six ladders (sometimes all you can cling to are roots and branches) to the top. Yaxkin Caan Chac, the son and successor of Ah-Cacau, built Temple IV about 40 years after Temple I was built for his father. Today, Temple IV is the tallest surviving Maya structure from pre-Columbian history—212 feet from the base of its platform to the top. Not until the turn of the century, when elevators came along, were taller buildings constructed in this hemisphere. Temple IV also houses a three-room temple, with walls up to 40 feet thick. From the summit of Temple IV, the sight of the entire area is breathtaking. The jungle canopy itself rises 100 feet into the air, and the tops of the other white temples of Tikal rise above the tops of the trees.