The Maya of El Mirador built the first super highways in the world according to Richard Hansen, Mirador Basin Project Director. These connected the cities within the basin as well as the complexes within the cities. “The road or sakbé that connects The Great Acropolis with La Danta,” explained Douglas Mauricio of the Mirador Basin Archaeological Project, “is 20 to 25 meters wide and 3 meters tall. Most of the roads in El Mirador have been discovered through satellite photography.” The roads are great works of engineering that are just as impressive as the architectural structures themselves, since these roads were straight and flat.

The ascent tot he top is worth every minute of the effort as you explore the greatest pyramid by volume in the entire planet.

It was very clear to the Maya urban planners that they needed large public spaces in order to accommodate a large number of people. Perhaps this is why they decided to build an enormous plaza on the road that connected the Great Acropolis with La Danta Complex. Before arriving at La Danta we find a plaza on the edge of which is one of the stelae discovered at the site. “It's the Great Plaza , one of the largest plazas in the entire Maya World region, measuring up to 300 x 200 meters,” says Carlos Morales of the Mirador Basin Archaeological Project.

Before 2006 the only way to climb to the top of the Danta pyramid was to pull oneself up with the help of a rope. To avoid the impact on the structure and as a service to visitors the Mirador Basin Project built these wooden stairway which allows visitors to see the jungle safely and comfortably. El Mirador, Mar 2009.

“This is the largest…well we think the largest building in the [ancient] world,” Richard Hansen told CNN. “The Pyramid La Danta is a structure the world should know because it represents an investment of labor unprecedented in world history. Keep in mind that in the new world we didn't have beasts of burden like horses and oxen. We didn't have the wheel with carts and wagons to pull stuff along. Every single stone in that building, from the bottom to the top, was carried by human labor. Now when you consider the investment of human labor, it's certainly one of the most remarkable structures in the world,” he exclaimed.

The Mirador Basin Project has done a marvelous work of restoration over the course of 4 years that may be appreciated at the top of the Danta pyramid. El Mirador, Jul 2010

When one is standing at the top of La Danta Complex one may see jungle as far as your eyes can see, “This is the summit of the Mayan World,” according to Richard Hansen, Mirador Basin Project Director, as he told the CNN reporters who filmed The Forgotten City of El Mirador in 2009.

At the far end you may see the second lateral structure, an integral part of the triadic pattern at the top of the Danta Pyramidal Complex. El Mirador, Jul. 2010

A bat falcon observing the birdwatchers watching him from the top of the Danta pyramid. El Mirador, Jul. 2010

The Maya leveled the gaps with construction filling to make the sakbeob (plural of sakbe ) straight and flat and covered very long distances. “It was this elaborate web of ancient cities and causeways that linked all these ancient cities together in a unique web of a federation and it gave them the economical, political, and military capability to control vast populations,” Richard Hansen told CNN.

Anteriormente subir halándose por una cuerda era la única forma de subir a la Danta hasta el 2006. Para evitar el impacto sobre las estructuras y como un servicio para el turismo el Proyecto Cuenca Mirador construyó estas escalinatas de madera que permiten observar la selva con comodidad y seguridad para los visitantes. El Mirador, Jul 2010.

“Excavations on the Danta Complex began in the year 2005. Different areas of this enormous building were excavated and in the course of these excavations 3 archaeologists discovered Late Pre Classic occupation throughout the whole complex,” says Douglas Mauricio of the Mirador Basin Archaeological Project. “However, on the second platform and the platform above there is evidence of Early Classic occupation as well as Mid Classic, which are periods that do not correspond to this site.” El Mirador corresponds to Late Pre Classic and Terminal Pre Classic occupation with little evidence of occupation during the protoclassic.

The causeway that connects La Danta to the rest of the city is the same sakbe that continues to Nakbe on a three and a half hour walk... El Mirador, Mar 2009

Hansen explained to CNN that La Danta has just been exposed relatively recently… “So you can see the art and architecture of the Pre Classic,” he said. “So we're exposing this now and we've got a little more to do, but what this lets us see are the ancient Pre Classic stairs which were part of the original building with masks and panels and all richly decorated!” According to Hansen it's a saga of humanity that's never been known before, “Imagine the labor!”

As you stand facing the great pyramid of La Danta you may see this structure, part of the triadic pattern to your right. El Mirador, Jul. 2010