Starry-eyed: How dark sky tourism is shining a light on Guatemalan heritage

The Mayan ruins of Guatemala are spectacular by day. But seeing them by night reveals much more about these sacred spaces and the people who lived here. 

Deep in Guatemala’s jungle-cloaked ruins, still inhabited by howler monkeys and toucans, lies a 2,000 year old stone etched with a set of footprints. More astonishing is that these ‘Piescitos’ are perfectly aligned with the rising sun on the winter solstice. 

Guatemala is known for its centuries-old ruined temples, dramatic natural beauty and distinctive Mayan culture. Less well known is that the stars and sky are a vital part of Guatemalan identity and cultural heritage. Guatemalan history is so deeply rooted in science and astronomy that Mayan cities and sacred spaces were built to align with celestial events. Mayans even went to war according to the movement of the planets. 

“Mayans have watched the stars since forever,” says Sergio Montúfar, an astrophotographer and DarkSky International Board Member. ”They were great astronomers who tracked the moon, planets and stars, understood the cycles of nature and created the most advanced calendars of their time.” 

Montúfar hopes that careful development of dark sky or astrotourism will help to tell stories of the country’s past, giving people a better understanding of Guatemala, and the Mayan heritage and culture. “We have something that other countries don't have, the heritage in astronomy. We have dark skies in archaeological parks, which were the ancestral observatories,” he says. 

Astrotourism offers the opportunity to reconnect with nature, understand more about the universe and our place within it, and value dark skies more. It involves visiting mainly remote and rural places with minimal light pollution to gape at cinematic scenes such as meteor showers, comets whizzing through the night sky and the huge spiral Milky Way galaxy. Other unique night time activities include hikes, nocturnal wildlife watching and sleep tourism. 

Archeoastronomy is a particular form of astrotourism combining sacred archeological sites, the Mayan ruins in this case, with stargazing. Tikal, an ancient Mayan city, occupied between 600 BC-1000 AD, is renowned for its towering 45m high pyramids and rich archaeological treasures, and is probably Guatemala’s most famous Mayan site. 

It is striking to visit in the day, but even more so at night knowing the significance of the starry sky for Mayan timekeepers. Elements of Mayan cosmology have been purposely built into the design of the city, including the orientation of the temples, which allows for the calculation of the equinox and solstice, important dates in the Mayan calendar. 

This is also evident at Tak'alik Ab'aj, one of the oldest Mayan cities in existence, and a recent UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ancient ‘Piescitos’ stone is here, as is Stela 13, one of many carved stone shafts at the site. Stela 13 is directly lined up with the Draco constellation, or the ‘serpent in the sky’, and carved into the Stela is an intricately designed serpent with its mouth open.

Guatemala is one of the few countries to have integrated astrotourism into national tourism plans. Montufar was instrumental in this, leading the first strategic plan for astrotourism with the Guatemalan Institute of Tourism, Inguat. The plan, made with collaboration of over 50 organisations, including timekeepers from Mayan communities, aims to enhance and safeguard the starry sky, reduce light pollution and maximise on the appeal of stargazing for tourism and educational purposes. Sustainability and responsible tourism form the bedrock of the plan, to balance economic growth with environmental and heritage conservation, and equitable community benefits.

“The most important perspective is that we are working with heritage, and heritage is a very important characteristic of a culture, so we have to be really careful. We have to find out ways to preserve knowledge and not promote it as a product, because this is not a product,” Montúfar says. Key to success is slow development. Initially work focused on creating presentations where people could see astrophotography images, talk with a Mayan timekeeper and learn about light pollution. 

Alongside, work began on documenting the living heritage of the Maya to ensure Mayan stories are being told correctly. Before the Spanish invasion of 1523, Mayans were the most advanced civilization in the Americas. They now make up around 40% of the Guatemalan population, but have been historically suppressed and outlawed. 

Montúfar is also working to see what regulations can be put in place to protect Guatemala’s dark skies. “It's not just about looking at stars. Light pollution has a negative impact on animals, in plants, and also human health,” he says. Global light pollution has increased by seven to 10% per year according to one study. Another study found that 83% of the world’s population live under light-polluted skies, and that figure increases to 99% in Europe and North America. Light pollution disrupts ecosystems, interferes with wildlife behavior and migration patterns, is a threat to biodiversity, contributes to climate change, and has detrimental effects on human health by disrupting circadian rhythms and sleep patterns. “Ultimately, we are stardust, so all of us will fall in love with the stars if we see the Milky Way but we don't have that. We don't have that chance. Everything has disconnected from nature,” says Montúfar.

DarkSky International (formerly the International Dark-Sky Association) is a non-profit whose mission is to reduce light pollution to protect dark nights and preserve starry skies. It has created a range of certifications, similar in rigour to UNESCO World Heritage applications, that are awarded to places with very low artificial light and have an involved and supportive local community. 

The Elqui valley in northern Chile was named the world’s first international dark sky sanctuary in 2015, and Niue, a small island nation in the South Pacific, became the first DarkSky certified country in 2020, which means they now have formal protection for their night sky. Montúfar is currently working to get International Dark Sky Place designation for three archeological sites in Guatemala: Tak'alik Ab'aj, El Mirador, and Tikal. 

By its nature, astrotourism encourages people to stay longer and contribute to local economies by staying overnight in a more remote destination. It is also a very natural bedfellow for rural community tourism, needing little investment or start-up. One stand-out success already in operation is Astrostays, a community-owned dark sky experience in the Himalayan mountains in India. Communities, and women in particular, benefit directly from the substantial revenue gained in a region where there is limited access to other forms of income. On a clear mountain night, guests can experience dinner and stargazing with monks at a 700 year old monastery, or enjoy the hospitality of a cosy family homestay far off the beaten track. 

“I think astrotourism is the most perfect example of innovation for community tourism, eco tourism and rural tourism because you will always have a sky wherever you go. And you can cook, you can create great routes for food or wine or whatever.” Montufar says. “But the experience will be much more beautiful if you take a person to drink that wine below the stars.”