El Tigre (Itzamkanac)

El Tigre is the archaeological site of Itzamkanac, the capital of Acalán, a Chontal Maya province that controlled river trade across what is now southern Campeche. The city stood on the banks of the Candelaria River, which made it a natural port: canoes carried goods between the Gulf coast, the Petén lowlands and the Yucatán Peninsula, and its merchants were known across the Maya world.

The site spreads over several square kilometers of forest. The cleared area includes four large structures and six smaller ones around two plazas, with altars, plain stelae and stucco masks on some of the buildings. Colonial documents describe the main temple complex as dedicated to the most important gods of the late Maya world, among them Kukulcán.

Itzamkanac also has a place in the story of the conquest. In 1525 Hernán Cortés crossed Acalán on his march to Honduras, bringing with him Cuauhtémoc, the last Mexica ruler, as a prisoner. Cuauhtémoc was executed during that stay in Acalán, and many historians place the event at or near Itzamkanac. Today the site is quiet and rarely crowded, with howler monkeys and birds in the trees around the ruins.