It is difficult to imagine traveling through the cities of Guatemala without visiting at least one ancient city of the Maya civilization. The whole country resembles a giant open-air museum: one of the largest Tikal fortifications, the best-preserved Iximché, the modest Mixco Viejo, and Quiriguá that is famous for its steles and sculptures.

Quiriguá National Park is located in the vicinity of Puerto Barrios, in the valley of the country's largest Motagua River. In the 2nd century AD, it was a large prosperous city of the ancient peoples of the Maya civilization. In the 8th century, it was especially famous for its luxury and wealth. Quiriguá is very different from other Maya settlements. There are no imposing buildings or architecture that is striking in its originality. The amazing sculptures are of particular value here, some of which are the highest ancient monuments in America.

The heyday of the city is considered to be the 7th century, the time under the reign of Cauac Sky. Most of the monolithic monuments of Quiriguá date from this time. All the monuments were made without metal tools: anthropomorphic and zoomorphic images on giant stones, sculptures in the form of various animals, stela-calendars, and sacrificial altars. As in the construction of their cities, the Maya masters used only a stone chisel and a wooden hammer for their sculpture.

The monuments of Quiriguá allow tourists to trace the history of the classical period of an ancient civilization. All steles have four faces covered with hieroglyphs and relief images. They are devoted to the history of the ancient city, its inhabitants and rulers, events, and ritual ceremonies. All the images are made in an incredibly subtle manner that is not typical for other ancient civilizations. Currently, more than 20 steles and sculptures have been found. The largest of them is more than 10 meters high and 1.5 meters wide, and its weight is more than 600 tons. It was built in 771.

In addition to the famous monuments, the Archaeological Park of Quiriguá with an area of ​​3 sq km has a structure similar to other ancient cities. It has a central square, a palace of the middle of the 6th century, several pyramid-shaped temples, and a ball court.