Tikal, located in the northern Peten region of Guatemala in Central America was one of the largest cities in the Mayan civilization and is now an important tourist center. Tikal, as one of the archaeological wonders of the world, is on par with sites such as Machu Picchu, Petra, Calakmul, Chichen Itza, and the Great Wall of China. By the 10th century Tikal was completely deserted. It was rediscovered in 1848 by Modesto Méndez and Ambrosio Tut. In 1979 UNESCO declared the site a Cultural Heritage of Humanity.