Located along the southwest shore of Lake Petén Itzá, 65 km. from Tikal and 30 km from El Remate, the island of Flores is the capital of the department of Petén, Guatemala. It is separated from the mainland towns of Santa Elena and San Benito by a short causeway. Flores has a population of approximately 13,700 (2003).

In  Pre-Columbian times, Flores was the Maya city of Tayasal. It was one of the last Maya cities conquered by the Spanish in 1697. As an archaeological site, Tayasal was almost completely destroyed by the Spanish, and the modern city of Flores was built over the island.

With its colorful, colonial style architecture and cobblestone streets, Flores is a quaint island town which you can circle by foot in less than an hour. Several hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops can be found here.

On the mainland in Santa Elena is the Mundo Maya International Airport, which serves the Flores/Tikal area and Petén. It is the only international airport in the country aside from La Aurora in Guatemala City. Flights depart and arrive in Flores everyday from Cancun, Mexico, Belize and Guatemala City.

Local authorities tell us the paving of the road from Flores, Tikal, El Remate to Belize border will be finished by mid 2010.

Flores - photo from WikiTravel