Seibal (Ceibal) Tours and Activities

Strategically located above the Pasión River, a once important trade route to the Gulf of Mexico, Seibal (Ceibal) is one of the best preserved of Peten’s Mayan cities.

Archaeologists are in awe of elegant ceremonial construction dated to 900BC, among the earliest known monumental architecture in the Mayan world. Most visitors, however, will remember Seibal for its remarkably detailed stelae and sculptures, many carved after 800 AD, when the rest of the Mayan Empire was already in a state of collapse. Rendered in unusually hard stone, these detailed portraits and glyphs were influenced by foreign civilizations, and are unusually beautiful. This is why Seibal is sometimes called the “Mayan Art Gallery.”

The city was built on several elevated terraces overlooking the river, and is relatively small, covering about one square kilometer (2.5 acres). Plan to spend two or three hours exploring.