Located in the northern Peten region of [[Guatemala]] in [[Latin America]] Tikal was the largest city in the ruins of the [[Maya]]n civilization and is now a tourist center.
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'''Tikal''', located in the northern Peten region of [[Guatemala]] in [[Central America]] was one of the largest city in the ruins of the [[Maya]]n civilization and is now an important tourist center. It was rediscovered in 1848.
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Tikal represent one of the most impressive architectural achievements of the Maya civilization. It has five imposing pyramids(200 ft. in height).
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Not far from [[Calakmul]], the largest city in the mayan world, was it's rival. As Professor Peter Mathews says: ''Tikal and Calakmul hated each other's guts, fought wars, captured each other's kings and more to the point they generated alliances around them''. Uaxactún is another maya site close to Tikal almost with the same size and importance.
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Tikal, as one of the archaeological wonders of the world, is grouped with luminaries such as Machu Picchu, Petra, Calakmul, [[Chichen Itza]] and the Great Wall of China. In 1979 UNESCO declared the site a [[Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].