Quiriguá Archaeological Park

Quiriguá was a small but ambitious Maya city that broke free from powerful Copán in 738 AD, when its ruler K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat captured and executed Copán's king. To celebrate, he raised a series of giant sandstone stelae, carved with his portrait and long hieroglyphic texts. The tallest, Stela E, stands about 10.7 metres high and weighs around 65 tonnes: the largest known stone monument in the Maya world. Alongside the stelae are the zoomorphs, huge boulders carved into mythical animals and gods, now sheltered under thatched roofs. The site is flat and shady, with a small museum, and easy to see in an hour or two. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.