Takalik Maya Lodge

Just two kilometers up the road from Takalik Abaj [1], on the site’s ninth terrace, is the exquisite Takalik Maya Lodge (tel. 2333-7056 or 2337-0037, www.takalik.com [2]), where you have your choice between two different concepts, both on lands occupied by the working Montes Eliseos coffee farm.

The Kacike Maya concept is built in a heavily forested area near the lodge’s restaurant. There are two beautiful and comfortable rooms, each with unique interior paint and decor. Both have a winding staircase leading to a second-floor balcony, where you can lounge away soothed by the sounds of the surrounding jungle.

The rooms are truly a work of art and the walls are painted with motifs inspired by the natural beauty all around. Indigenous bedspreads, gas lamps, and tile floors complete the ambience. You can stay at the Kacike Maya for $80 d, but there are packages including one night’s stay, three meals, and a tour to Takalik Abaj by tractor for $87 per person based on double occupancy.

At the Paseo del Café, just up the road, you can stay in the heart of a 19th-century coffee farm in comfortable wooden buildings with charming red tin roofs centered around a small plaza. The seven rooms here have electricity and share a bathroom. They are also just steps from a refreshing swimming pool surrounded by lush jungle and coffee bushes. Rooms here cost $32 d and include breakfast. A package including one night’s stay, three meals, a coffee tour, and a visit to Takalik Abaj by tractor-pulled cart costs $57 per person in a double room.

The restaurant, on the Kacike side of the lodge, serves a somewhat limited menu, though the food is quite good, with entrées in the $6–9 range that include kebabs and salads. The homemade lemonade is particularly thirst-quenching after a visit to the ruins.

Numerous nature trails wind their way through the farm and there is a small but refreshing waterfall just a 10-minute hike away. In addition to Takalik Abaj tours, the lodge can also arrange bird-watching and visits to the Manchón Guamuchal Wetland Preserve and Chicabal Lagoon.

Getting to Takalik Maya Lodge

From Takalik Abaj [1] archaeological site’s roadside entrance, it’s a further two kilometers up the main road to Takalik Maya Lodge, about 30 minutes’ walking.