Temple I (Temple of the Great Jaguar), Tikal, Guatemala

Temple I faces the Great Plaza at Tikal, the Classic Maya city in Guatemala's Petén. It is a royal tomb as much as a temple: the king Jasaw Chan K'awiil was buried beneath it, and the pyramid was completed around 732 CE under his son. Its nine steep terraces and tall roof comb set the look people now picture when they think of a Maya pyramid. Visitors can no longer climb it, so the plaza view shown here is the one you get.