Sights in Tulum
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Templo de la Estela
Templo de la Estela is also known as the Temple of the Initial Series. Stela 1, now in the British Museum, was found here. It was inscribed with the Maya date corresponding to AD 564 (the 'initial series' of Maya hieroglyphs in an inscription gives its date). At first this confused archaeologists, who believed Tulum had been settled several hundred years later than this date. It's now thought that Stela 1 was brought to Tulum from Tankah, a settlement 4km to the north dating from the Classic period.
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Tulum Ruins
The ruins of Tulum preside over a rugged coastline, a strip of brilliant beach and green-and-turquoise waters that will make you want to tear up that return ticket home. It’s true the extents and structures are of a modest scale and the late post-Classic design, workmanship and ornamentation are inferior to those of earlier, more grandiose projects – but wow, those Maya occupants must have felt pretty smug each sunrise. Iguanas are everywhere, and many act as if they own the place.
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Templo de las Pinturas
The two-story Templo de las Pinturas was constructed in several stages around AD 1400-1450. Its decoration was among the most elaborate at Tulum and included relief masks and colored murals on an inner wall. The murals have been partially restored but are nearly impossible to make out. This monument might have been the last built by the Maya before the Spanish conquest and, with its columns, carvings and two-story construction, it's probably the most interesting structure at the site.
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Estructura 25
Estructura 25 has some interesting columns on its raised platform and, above the main doorway (on the south side), a beautiful stucco frieze of the Descending God. Also known as the Diving God, this upside-down, part-human figure appears elsewhere at Tulum, as well as at several other east-coast sites and Cobá. It may be related to the Maya's reverence for bees (and honey), perhaps a stylized representation of a bee sipping nectar from a flower.
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El Castillo
Tulum's tallest building is a watchtower appropriately named El Castillo by the Spaniards. Note the Descending God in the middle of its facade, and the Toltec-style 'Kukulcanes' (plumed serpents) at the corners, echoing those at Chichén Itzá. To the Castillo's north is the small, lopsided Templo del Dios Descendente, named for the relief figure above the door.
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Casa del Cenote
Named for the small pool at its southern base, where you can sometimes see the glitter of little silvery fish as they turn sideways in the murky water. A small tomb was found in the casa.
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Templo del Dios del Viento
Templo del Dios del Viento provides the best views of El Castillo juxtaposed with the sea below.
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El Palacio
South of Estructura 25 is El Palacio , notable for its X-figure ornamentation.
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