Tikal

A yellow seventeenth-century arch across a cobbled street, built so cloistered nuns could cross without being seen, framing Agua volcano.

A hilltop cross above the town reached by steps, looking down the street grid to Agua volcano.

The tallest structure at Tikal at about 65 metres, climbed by a wooden stair to a platform above the canopy facing the other temples.

Atitlán fills a collapsed volcanic caldera at 1,560 metres, ringed by three volcanoes and a dozen villages, each with its own character and Maya language. Boats rather than roads are the main link between them: Panajachel for transport, San Marcos for retreats, San Juan for weaving cooperatives. The lake is deep and the afternoon wind is strong.

A ridge above San Juan climbed before dawn for a view across the lake to the volcanoes as the sun comes up.

Semuc Champey is a 300-metre natural limestone bridge in the Alta Verapaz jungle, carrying a staircase of turquoise pools while the Cahabón river runs underneath it. A steep path climbs to a viewpoint over the whole formation. Access is by rough road from Lanquín, which is the main reason it stays relatively quiet.