El Pilar is 7 miles beyond the village of Bullet Tree Falls. To get there, you take the Bullet Tree Road from San Ignacio, cross the Mopan River bridge in Bullet Tree, then look for signs directing you to the scenic, all-weather El Pilar Road.
El Pilar is divided into three primary sectors: North (Xaman), South (Nohol), and West (Poniente). The West sector is located in Guatemala. Your guide will take you through three trails that will lead you to the primary archaeological centers.
With more than a dozen large pyramids, construction occurred between the Middle Preclassic (500 BC) and Terminal Classic (1000 AD) periods. A broad variety of residential structures were discovered during excavations, in addition to elite household compounds and civic/ceremonial structures. Furthermore, there are also rooms exhibiting beautiful masonry, corbel vaults and monumental stairways, using a high quality, locally quarried limestone.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the Mayan city was occupied early and continuously, and could have been a strategic location for the Maya, given that it is located near a small, seasonally navigable river that linked Tikal (in Guatemala) with the Caribbean Sea. The rare abundance of natural water sources in this vicinity is possibly the origin of the name El Pilar ("pila" being Spanish for watering basin). There were large areas of fertile soil scattered about the area, where it is believed that nearby residents grew cash crops, such as cacao, tobacco and cotton. Those living further from the fertile valleys supplemented farming with production of stone tools, pottery and other basic household items.
On the tour, you will likely see Scarlet Macaws, parrots and toucans among the sizable population of birds here, as well as armadillo, sloth, deer, tapir and jaguar--just a sampling of the wildlife that makes its home in the reserve. The abundance of flora includes ornamental, edible and medicinal plants, and others that were used as construction materials. Many plants are labeled with small silver tags to enable you to identify them.