Continuing along the Tozzer Causeway, which is one of the original elevated walkways connecting various parts of the city, you’ll come across Complex N on the left.

Complex N is a twin-temple complex of the variety frequently constructed by Tikal’s Late Classic rulers, supposedly to commemorate the passing of a katun, or 20-year cycle in the Mayan calendar. Found here is the beautifully carved Stela 16, showing Hasaw Chan K’awil in a plumed headdress.

The complex was built in A.D. 711 to mark the 14th katun of baktun 9, a baktun being 400 years. Altar 5, also found here, depicts Hasaw victoriously presiding over sacrificial skull and bones with a lord from one of Calakmul’s former vassal states. The corresponding text also mentions the death of Lady 12 Macaw, Hasaw’s wife.

Farther along, you’ll come to the colossal Temple IV, the tallest of Tikal’s temples at 65 meters (212 feet). Like the Great Plaza’s temples, it was completed in A.D. 741 by Yik’in Chan K’awil and may have served as his burial monument, though there is no concrete evidence as of yet. In addition to offering the best views of the site from its summit, it is also known as the origin of some excellent lintels depicting a victorious king surrounded by glyphs.

As in the case of the lintels from Temple I, you’ll now have to travel to Basel if you want to see the originals. A replica of Lintel 3 is in Guatemala City’s Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología.

The climb to the top of the temple up a series of wooden ladders attached to its side can be described as simply breathtaking, both for the effort required and for the spectacular views of the forest on all sides.