To see Guatemala’s most impressive Maya ruins, catch a TACA flight from Guatemala City to Flores, the capital of the country’s Petén region and the city closest to the Maya ruins of Tikal. While there are some attractive lodges on Lake Petén Itzá, a more compelling way to experience the area is to stay with scientists and scholars working there and go farther afield from Tikal to places like San Bartolo and Sak Nikte’.

Spending the night at an active archaeological site is a real adventure. It involves making advance arrangements with the scholars themselves, helicoptering to remote jungle sites, and sleeping in tents with no electricity. But it’s worth the hassle: Visitors to San Bartolo can see the stunning polychrome murals from circa 100 b.c. that Boston University archaeologist William Saturno discovered in 2001. At Sak Nikte’ (known today as La Corona) another Maya scholar, Yale anthropologist Marcello Canuto, studies the timeworn carved-stone panels and hieroglyphs. Both men are excellent guides and welcoming hosts.

Sak Nikte’ To arrange a visit, contact lacorona.project[at]gmail.com
San Bartolo To arrange a visit, contact info[at]sanbartolo.org

Tajikistan's Pamir Highway (with Serena Hotel Khorog), Caucasus (with Hotel Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh) and of course all the dark states of Africa would be my recommendation.