FLORES , the capital of Petén, has an easy pace and a sedate, old-world atmosphere diametrically opposed to the commerce and hustle that typify most of Petén's towns. Its genteel cobbled streets, ageing houses and twin-domed church are set on a small island in Lago de Petén Itzá, connected to the mainland by a short causeway. The frontier mentality lies just across the water in SANTA ELENA , a chaotic, featureless town which is dusty in the dry season and mud-bound during the rains.

The lake was a natural choice for settlement, and its shores were heavily populated in Maya times, with the capital of the Itzá, Tayasal , occupying the island that was to become modern Flores. Cortes passed through here in 1525, on his way south to Honduras, and left behind a sick horse which he promised to send for later. A horse-worshipping cult started as a result, and later visitors were sacrificed to the equine deity. Tayasal was eventually destroyed by Martín de Ursúa and an army of 235 in 1697. For the entire colonial period (and indeed up to the 1960s) Flores languished in virtual isolation, having more contact with neighbouring Belize than with the capital.

Today, despite the steady flow of tourists passing through en route to Tikal, the town retains an urbane air. It has little to detain you and is small enough to explore in an hour or so, but it does offer some attractive places to stay, good restaurants, cybercafés and spectacular lake views