Mel Gibson dined with Guatemala's president and admired Mayan murals in the capital's cultural palace after a weekend jungle visit.

The 51-year-old actor-director visited the Palace of Culture on Monday, where President Oscar Berger showed him contemporary murals portraying aspects of Mayan life and the Spanish conquest.

Afterward, the two men had lunch at the presidential palace.

Gibson has visited the country many times as a tourist, said Krista Kepfer, a spokeswoman for Berger.

"He is very interested in Guatemala as a tourist destination and in the culture," she said.

Over the weekend, Gibson visited the Mayan ruins of El Mirador deep in the northern Peten jungle, Kepfer said.

The visit was private and neither Gibson nor Berger made any statements to the news media.

Gibson, 51, starred in the "Lethal Weapons" movies and directed of "The Passion of The Christ" and "Apocalypto." He won best director and best picture Oscars in 1996 for "Braveheart."