The last thing that almost anyone connected with these trips wants is for anything bad to happen to travelers. The local economy depends on good trips happening. Cooks are very careful to cook in such a way that no one gets sick and I think that thieves would receive a cold and dangerous reception there.
climate
Tropical, but it will get cool toward morning. In December and January, you will be glad that your guide brought blankets for sleeping on your solid cloth hammock. You will enjoy a hot drink in the morning year around.
flora and fauna
Animals and insects were surprisingly sparse in January, but were fairly common in an earlier July trip. It is very dry for enough of the year to make survival a problem. You will most likely hear birds, but may see them from time to time. There are some monkeys, both howler and spider. The area has some interesting butterflies, spiders and an occasional snake.
fees/permits
Effective July 20th, 2007, officially there has been a 60Q entry fee per visitor mandated.
lodging
Hammocks with mosquito netting and a blanket included in all trips are great. Apparently there is an actual building where bigwigs can stay on arrival. Can a basic hotel be far behind?
history
El Mirador flourished as a trading center from around 200 BCE to 150 CE during the Maya Pre-Classic Period. With a population as high as 80,000, it was one of the first large cities in North America. In the mid second century CE the entire Mirador Basin with its numerous other cities and villages became rapidly depopulated. There is little evidence of a population until there was a modest one in the Late Classic Period, and there is no permanent population today.
On April 18th, 2002, President Alfonso Portillo signed legislation, which established the Mirador Basin National Monument as a Special Archaeological Zone. This is intended to provide for the permanent protection of 600,000 acres of tropical rainforest in this area, which surrounds the oldest and largest Maya archaeological sites in Mesoamerica. The Mirador Basin National Monument is designed as a wilderness preserve without roads.
However, events of 2005 in Guatemala have pitted ranching and logging interests against this effort. Even some locals who do not see how tourism in the area will benefit them yet are in favor of what will result in roads, short term logging, non-sustainable swidden agriculture and ranches where once there was rain forest. See (http://news.mongabay.com/...).
introduction
The reasons that El Mirador is not swamped with tourists are its inaccessibility and, although a lot of work being done here, most of this huge site involves many unrestored mounds and pyramids in the jungle. Structure 34 is an exception, where some interesting figures were unearthed and an entire wall has been laid bare. Danta is another exception, where work to stabilize it was done. Once a person has hiked to the top of El Tigre, the view that awaits is mostly of jungle and other ruins, such as Calakmul and Nakbé in the distance. However, any mound or group of mounds that you can see as far to the horizon are former cities. It is the idea of lost cities the jungle that brings people to see it.
Because of serious ongoing work, this site will become more and more visibly intriguing as time goes on.
landscape
It's not a rain forest for at least half of the year. However, there are are a good number of bajos en route that are muddy through much of the year.
The good news is that the portion from Tintal to El Mirador is now primarily atop the ancient causeway between them, so there is a lot less traversing bajos.
tips
Always have a flashlight handy when leaving your hammock in the dark. Just going a little way to urinate might turn you around. A very small one that you always keep in the same pocket is good for this.
Probably the best flashlight you can have in the evening is one you can wear on your head. Just don't point it so it is in people's eyes.