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Carmelita, Guatemala, is where you will start out on foot or on mule if you want to see the Maya ruins of El Mirador and Nakbé without paying for a helicopter ride. I lists itself as being 70 kilometers from El Mirador and 65 from Nakbé, and it is the closest community to these and many other ruins along the way to, between and from these sites.  Since there are only around 16 or so kilometers distance between El Mirador and Nakbé, it is advisable to see both if you can spare one extra day.  Also, it is not very far out of the way back from Nakbé to see the ruins at Wakná, but you had better arrange to see that ahead of time.

It sounds like the Carmelita cooperative is no more.  I now have a contact sources who are likely to give a good price in Carmelita.. The community phone number is (011 from the US)  then (502) 77 83 38 56.  Jose Morales was our good, but taciturn,  guide in 2002.  Call, ask for him, and ask how long before you should call back. Then call again back to speak with him.   Another possibility, which a friend of mine recommended is Manuel Marroquin.  Another guide who gets good marks is Umberto Machuca. He has his own cell phone, 5056-1571, but if he doesn't answer, you could try leaving a brief message as to what you want and what time you will try to call him back. Watch out for Rudy Marroquín, though. who gouged that same friend of mine in July 2008.  If you have plenty of time, you could show up by bus and ask around.

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The village has two comedors, (one with very basic rooms to rent), and cold drinks and solar electricity. One and a half kilometers before the village is Campamento Nakbe with basic but clean shelters with hammock and netting and campsites as well.  If you just show up on the bus after leaving Santa Elena at 1 pm, you will arrive around 4 pm and it is most likely to be too late to arrange things for the next day. 

 This could be a very good way to go if there are only one or two going and at least one person can communicate in Spanish. By calling ahead and arranging to go on a particular day and arranging a room with them, then a person would just hop the daily bus around 1 pm from Santa Elena to Carmelita. Then there would be an early start  for El Tintal and Mirador the next day. Had either of my groups done it this way, we could have avoided what we called the "Death March" the first time and the "Night Ride" this past one. There would have been no rush back on the last day, because the bus does not leave Carmelita until the next morning at 5 am.

The Story of Carmelita and El Mirador.

See general thoughts on getting to El Mirador

Happy travelers in

 Carmelita after the trip in July 2002.

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