The El Mirador trek is touted in the guidebooks as an "adventure" but in my opinion it is not (just as, in my opinion, the Inca Trail is not an "adventure").

Regardless of whether you organize the trip through an agency like we did, or go to Carmelita and arrange it through the Cooperative or an independent guide, it is simply a guided tour through an amazing place. You don´t have to carry your food or camping gear, and you don´t have to cook, clean or set up / take down camp. The weather is stable, and any dangerous creatures are extremely elusive.

The trail is only passable in the dry season, from Jan-April. Being the dry season, we didn´t see more than a couple of mosquitos, and our mozzie nets weren´t technically needed. There are some ticks, but a good repellent, a long-sleeve shirt and long trousers tucked into your socks should prevent any "incidents".

You don´t need to be very fit to do the trek, it is mostly flat terrain, at sea level. However, walking for 9 hours in the heat does require a certain stamina.

If I could do it again I would not go through an agency, because I felt they took a disproportionate cut of the tour price, leaving less $$ for the guides and for our food and equipment. The guide makes 100 quetzales a day, around $15, for a solid 18 hours of work . The horseman makes half of that, (and a regular laborer in Guatemala makes about 60q a day). I would rather have contributed a bit more to the community of Carmelita, and a bit less to the gold teeth of the travel agency owner. He did not give us enough food and water, nor did we get a medical kit ("oops, I forgot...").

If you are on the anti-Atkins diet you´ll love this trek. How about wonderbread with jam and processed cheese for lunch, pasta with just a vague hint of sauce or rice with a touch of sardine juice for dinner, and sugary cereal with powdered milk for breakfast half the time? Atkins followers will love the pouch beans and eggs with a bag of salt that will make your morning a happy one the rest of the time...

If you do it on the cheap, don´t expect a first class guide. The group who paid $20 per day got a 16 year old "guide" who didn´t even talk to them unless he had to. The group who paid $25 per day got the guide who left trash everywhere and let them take ceramics home. We paid $30 per day, and whereas we got along great with our guide and arriero, and they were enviromentally responsible, we felt they were really more showing the way than guiding us. If it hadn´t been for the vigilantes, we wouldn´t have learnt as much about the ruins or the area as we did.

We went with Mayan Lands Travel Agency, and I do NOT recommend them.

There are two agencies in Flores that are much more expensive, but that offer a much better planned out trip with real guides. I believe these two are called Eco Maya and Martsam Travel. They charge over $300, but you get what you pay for.

For all my whining, though, I´d do the trek over again in a second. It was absolutely an amazing experience!