EAT IN ASIA / Destinations / Other destinations / Central america / Guatemala
TOP 10 Guatemalan fruits for visiting Tikal and Uaxactun Mayan ruins
Mayan ruins are one of the most interesting things in Guatemala. Apart from the beautiful nature, warm sea, a lot of sun and tasty cuisine, Guatemalan archeological sites are something really worth visiting. And there are especially two of them that are super interesting. They are also relatively easy to be done and their accessibility is pretty good. Another thing is that you do not need a couple of days for visiting them. Just one or two days for Tikal, or even a couple of hours if you consider Uaxactun ruins.
Tikal ruins are, I believe, the most important site in Guatemala. These ruins are listed on the UNESCO as World Heritage Site and there is no discussion both about their importance and their splendor. If you had to do only one archeological sightseeing, choose Tikal.
Uaxactun is another Mayan site that is located close to Tikal. Actually only about 20 kilometers north from it. But although it seems that they are relatively close to each other, it is rather hard to do both sites in the same day. Well, of course it is doable, however you will not have enough time for both places.
Tikal and Uaxactun are located in the department of Petén and the easiest way to get there is to take a bus or tour from Flores. This area is warm, sunny and with high temperatures. That is why during your sightseeing you will definitively need a lot of water and refreshing snacks or any other food for the whole day. The best way to prepare yourself for the one-day excursion is to have a rich breakfast – I recommend having an original one – Desayuno Chapin (What is a Guatemalan breakfast AKA Desayuno Chapín) with a cup of a good coffee.
Pack a lot of water or other drinks, and finally prepare your lunch box (read more about Best Guatemalan lunch ideas) with a lot of fruits and salads. Fruits are also a great option for vegetarians and vegans. Another good idea would be to take fruit juices and shakes based on milk (almond, soya or coconut milk are a nice option too).
Here I prepared a list of these products, that I think might be the best for you. Some of them are really thirst quenching, and some of them are full of energy. Depending on what you need and what you think that is good for you, make your own selection and prepare yourself for sightseeing Mayan ruins. However, please bear in mind, that it is good to take with you some food that is packed with a lot of energy too – for example bananas. Tikal ruins are not very strenuous, however due to the weather conditions - high temperatures and some steep hikes, you might need more calories. Remember also that some climbing might be necessary in case you would like to go to the top of many pyramids. In consequence, it would be good to have something that would give you an extra energy.
TOP 10 fruits for visiting Mayan ruins in Tikal and Uaxactun
1 Bananas & Platans
These fruits are without discussion always on my top list. They are very nutritive, give a lot of energy, and what is really important, relatively resistant.
In Guatemala there is plenty of different bananas and platans (here you will find more how to distinguish plantains and bananas and about their culinary use and nutrition values). Try as many of them as you can and select the best for you. I especially recommend having these that are the least available at yours. For me that would be a red banana that is so unique and so region specific. These small, red bananas are also very durable and easy to be packed. Usually their size does not exceed 15 centimeters, they have a slightly thick shape but the inner banana fruit, the white part without the skin, is rather thin. They have a starchy texture and are less creamy than traditional yellow bananas. Apart from that they are less sweet and have a solid structure.
Apart from these red bananas, similar to them are yellow baby bananas. Their shape and size is almost the same. However, their taste and the fruit size and shape is different. These bananas have skin that is thinner and in consequence are more delicate for transportation. The fruit is more creamy, are more sweet and have a less starchy texture.
Staying with small bananas, worth trying are ladyfinger bananas. These small and thin mini bananas are so cute. They do really look like fingers. They are thin but in the same time have a thin skin too. Ladyfinger bananas are sweet and super tasty. Apart from that, they are the least starchy comparing to red and small yellow bananas.
Finally they are these regular bananas that are available all around the world. These long and big yellow bananas are very popular too but, for me, they are the least interesting. What is good about them is that they still have a slightly different taste from the one I know from bananas that are imported to other countries. They are durable, have a semi-thick skin, are sweet and have a smooth consistence.
Of course the list of all bananas is longer, but I think these are the most worth trying and buying for a sightseeing day.
However, if you would like to try something more local but less juicy and much more starchy - choose platans. Platans can be eaten both raw and prepared in any form, that means either cooked or boiled or fried or even grilled. Platans are very resistant, have a higher content of energy in 100 grams and have a different nutritive value comparing to regular bananas.
You can read more about bananas and platans in our post on how to distinguish plantains and bananas, wher eyou will also find information about their culinary use and their nutrition values.
Coming back to the nutritional value, both of them - bananas and platans, are very nutritive and provide you a lot of vitamins and minerals that are lost during the walk. Both of them are rich in potassium, magnesium and iron. Apart from that, they contain a significant amount of vitamin C and vitamin B6.
Comparing platans with banana, these first have a higher content of all above mentioned vitamins and minerals except for vitamin B6 that is higher in bananas than in platans.
2 Coconut
Well, maybe that is not the best proposal from the packing perspective but you can almost always buy it close to any sightseeing place. Small stalls selling only coconuts are a great option. They are super fresh and thirst quenching. Although coconuts are not very handy they have a magical effect on your body. They let regain energy quickly and provide you with almost everything you lost during the walk and while sweating.
Apart from that, there is this great coconut water that is inside the nut. The inner young coconut meat is delicious. It is super sweet and delicate. Soft, partially juicy and energetical. So refresh yourself and grab one of them in the rest area.
Remember that coconut keeps your body hydrated and gives you a lot of essential electrolytes that are, with no doubt, lost during the trek. After climbing Mayan ruins in Tikal or Uaxactun that have a lot of stairs, coconut will help you restore energy and fight the fatigue. Finally, when you come back from the tour, having a young coco will give a relief from muscle cramps.
3 Papaya
With a yellow, orange or greenish skin, this fruit is very popular in Guatemala. Papayas have a beautiful orange flesh that has a slightly starchy consistence. The fruit has a relatively thin skin and it has a lot of small blackish seeds. And what is surprising for many persons, is the fact that these seeds are edible. Here, in Guatemala, papayas are juicier comparing to those from other countries and super sweet.
The whole papaya is heavy and even if you deprive it from skin, the weight is not significantly lower.
Although it might not be your favorite fruit from the beginning, it is still worth trying and taking with you. Not only it is easy to be packed in the backpack but it also has a beneficial effect on your body. Papayas are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin B9 known as foliates. Apart from that, the amount of potassium that is in papaya covers 11% of your daily needs.
4 Avocado
That is another great fruit not only in Guatemala. Avocados are creamy, soft, have a delicate flesh and are extremely nutritive. Although the fruit it is packed with a lot of fat, this fat is a healthy one - unsaturated that should be incorporated into the diet of every persons. This monosaturated fat allows your body to maintain the proper cholesterol level.
Avocado is not a juicy fruit but gives a lot of necessary energy for the whole trek and makes you feel full for a long time.
Its skin is relatively thick but in the same time, it is a very delicate fruit. It can easily be tampered during the transportation, so be careful with it. Apart from that, once opened it gets quickly dark. The second think you should remember about is the fact that if it is deprived of the part close to the base, the mold quickly appears and gets inside.
When choosing avocados in Guatemala you might have a doubt which fruit would be the best one for you. If you are not sure, ask the person that is selling it. She or he will definitively be able to help you and advise which you should choose.
Some avocados that are available in Guatemala are imported from Mexico but most of them are from the region.
If you go to a local open-air market you will be able to try fruits and also see how it looks like inside and what texture it has. That is the best option as thanks to that you will have a chance to pick the tastiest one.
5 Mango
Sweet, creamy and super fresh. Here, in Guatemala, mangoes are delicious. Hardly ever you will find fruits that are fibrous or without any aroma. Almost all of them have an ideal taste as it should be and have a wonderful smell.
Don’t be afraid that you will not be able to eat it easily because you do not have any knife. Local fruit vendors are prepare for it. They peel it so it is served without skin and then it is nicely cut into long slices. Very often the fruit is topped with some spices or with powdered pumpkin seeds. Although it might seem to you to be strange, it is worth trying at least once. Apart from that, some spices and seeds boost nutritional values that are in fruits. For example some vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E or vitamin K are soluble only in fats, so it is a good option to combine fruits rich in them with some fatty ingredients. For example you could pair it with seeds or nuts.
6 Pineapple
Well, that is one of my favorite fruits. Juicy, sweet, aromatic and so, so good in this region! Pineapples from Cost Rica conquered my heart and I still cannot go without these super tasty fruits.
In Guatemala there are two main types of pineapples, well there is much more of them but in general and to make it easier, one can distinguish super sweet pineapples and green pineapples that are moderately sweet. I prefer these green but most of the people opt for these sweet yellow types.
Their size, these yellow and green, is also usually different. These green pineapples are bigger and mature longer. Their flesh is more pale comparing to these yellow and sweet pineapples, but once ripe they have a nice flavor.
They are not super sweet but are still sweet and juicy. Apart from that, they have a slightly acid taste that is mixing with their natural sweetness.
In this post you will find more information about these fruits too - 8 TOP most popular Costa Rican fruits and their health benefits.
7 Watermelon
You might think you know watermelons very well. But you might be wrong! There is so many different watermelons that you will be surprised. Guatemalan’s watermelons can be small or big. Can have an oval shape or a perfectly round one. Their skin has different tones of green starting from a very pale one and ending on an intensively dark one. Some of them have a striped skin and some of them have a plain one.
Apart from that, their flesh looks differently too. Some watermelons have a pale reddish inner part and some of them have it almost as red as the blood is.
The amount of seeds in them can vary too. Starting with only a couple of black ones and ending on these varieties that have plenty of them.
However most of these watermelons are juicy, sweet and have a nice texture. Hardly ever they have a starchy flesh what is really great.
They are sweet, aromatic and wonderfully quench thirst. The only drawback is the fact that they can get easily rotten so have to be eaten quickly after being opened.
8 Jocote
Jocote is a fruit that I have never seen before. It is a small oval shaped fruit. Has a reddish or greenish skin that changes during the time. The rule is, the more mature and the more ripe the fruit is, the more red it is.
Its taste also changes and is dependent on the maturity state. When jocote is unripe, its skin is green. The fruit is firm and when touched it is almost like a stone. When ripe, the color changes to a red. The color change goes from green through yellow and orange to finally get a beautiful vivid red color.
The skin is delicate, has both a slightly porous and a waxed texture.
Its size varies depending on the fruit. However, usually the fruit has a length of about four centimeters and has about two to three centimeters diameter.
Inside the fruit there is one, relatively big, pit. The pit has a very porous structure, is slightly sharp on edges and is inedible. The color of the pit stays always the same no matter how mature the fruit is, and has a yellowish color.
The pit is firmly attached to the flesh, so to get rid of it, you have to bite it around.
When mature and fully ripe, jocote is very juicy and a has a sweet taste. When unripe, it has a slightly acidic taste and is less juicy.
Given the fact that the pit takes most part of the fruit, unfortunately there is not much left when you throw it away.
However, I strongly recommend not only trying it, but also taking it with you for sightseeing. Jocote, when mature, wonderfully quenches thirst thanks to its juiciness. Apart from that, its sweetness gives some energy too.
Another thing is that jocote is a relatively durable fruit and easily available in many places. Fruits are sold either per small bag with about twenty fruits, or per piece or set of pieces (for example for five pieces).
9 Mamey Sapote
This fruit is an interesting option too. Although very often it is considered to be the same, mamey and sapote are not exactly the same (in the post from Costa Rica you will find more about sapote - TOP 9 Exotic Costa Rican fruits and their health benefits). Even though they belong to the same fruit family and have some common values and properties, both of them vary a lot for me.
The most important difference between them and between their types, is their taste. Guatemalan yellow mamey belongs to a certain American mamey group that has a yellow flesh. It is more juicy and has a less starchy texture.
The skin is the same for both mamey and sapote. It is porous, has a brownish color and relatively thick.
Apart from that, seeds (in amount of one till four) in both of them are oval are inedible in the form there are in the fruit. Only once powdered and processed they can be added to meals and included into the diet. There are some scientifical proves that these powdered seeds have some positive effects too.
Mamey fruit is packed with antioxidants and with a dietary fiber. Regarding minerals and vitamins, the high content of potassium and vitamin C is worth mentioning.
The fruit is durable, easy to be transported and gets ripe slowly. When not fully mature, the fruit is hard and changes its consistence during the ripening process to finally become soft.
I would highly recommend you trying exact the type of the fruit before you buy it, as different mamey types and varieties have different taste and flavor. Some of them have a starchy one, while other are really tasty and full aroma.
10 Apples
Apples are always a good choice. Why? Well, there is a couple of reasons standing behind it.
The first thing is that apples are well known around the world.
The second thing is that apples are durable, easy to be transported and resistant to hits and smashes.
Apart from that, they are low in calories (comparing with for example mangoes, papaya, avocado, coconut or sapote), what is important for all of you who keep an eye on your weight.
These apples have a high level of dietary fiber and are juicy what is also important during the walk in a hot area.
However, as long as you are open to new flavors, I would always recommend you packing fruits that are typical for that area where you are staying in and according to the current season.
