Sights in Yucatán State
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Gran Juego de Pelota
The great ball court, the largest and most impressive in Mexico, is only one of the city's eight courts, indicative of the importance the games held here. The court, to the left of the visitors center, is flanked by temples at either end and is bounded by towering parallel walls with stone rings cemented up high.
There is evidence that the ball game may have changed over the years. Some carvings show players with padding on their elbows and knees, and it is thought that they played a soccerlike game with a hard rubber ball, with the use of hands forbidden. Other carvings show players wielding bats; it appears that if a player hit the ball through one of the stone hoops, h…
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El Castillo
As you approach from the visitors center into the site, El Castillo rises before you in all its grandeur. The first temple here was pre-Toltec, built around AD 800, but the present 25m-high structure, built over the old one, has the plumed serpent sculpted along the stairways and Toltec warriors represented in the doorway carvings at the top of the temple. You won't get to see these temple-top carvings as you are not allowed to ascend the pyramid.
The structure is actually a massive Maya calendar formed in stone. Each of El Castillo's nine levels is divided in two by a staircase, making 18 separate terraces that commemorate the 18 20-day months of the Maya vague year. The…
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Cuadrángulo de las Monjas
The 74-room, sprawling Cuadrángulo de las Monjas is directly west of the Casa del Adivino. Archaeologists guess variously that it was a military academy, royal school or palace complex. The long-nosed face of Chac appears everywhere on the façades of the four separate temples that form the quadrangle. The northern temple, grandest of the four, was built first, followed by the southern, then the eastern and then the western.
Several decorative elements on the exuberant façades show signs of Mexican, perhaps Totonac, influence. The feathered-serpent (Quetzalcóatl, or in Maya, Kukulcán) motif along the top of the west temple's façade is one of these. Note also the stylized…
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Ek' Balam
The turnoff for fascinating Ek' Balam is 17km north of Valladolid, from where the archaeological site is a further 6km east. Vegetation still covers much of the area, but excavations and restoration continue to add to the sights, including an interesting ziggurat-like structure near the entrance, as well as a fine arch and a ball court. Most impressive is the gargantuan Acrópolis, whose well-restored base is 160m long and holds a 'gallery,' actually a series of separate chambers. Built atop the base is Ek' Balam's massive main pyramid, reaching a height of 32m and sporting a huge jaguar mouth with 360-degree dentition. Below the mouth are stucco skulls, while above and to…
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Grupo de las Mil Columnas
This group to the east of El Castillo takes its name from the forest of pillars stretching south and east. The star attraction here is the Templo de los Guerreros (Temple of the Warriors), adorned with stucco and stone-carved animal deities. At the top of its steps is a classic reclining chac-mool figure - you're no longer allowed to ascend to it. Many of the columns in front of the temple are carved with figures of warriors.
Archaeologists working in 1926 discovered a Temple of Chac-Mool lying beneath the Temple of the Warriors. You can walk through the columns on its south side to reach the Columnata Noreste, notable for the 'big-nosed god' masks on its façade. Some hav…
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Edificio de las Monjas
Thought by archaeologists to have been a palace for Maya royalty, the so-called Edificio de las Monjas, with its myriad rooms, resembled a European convent to the conquistadors, hence their name for the building. The building's dimensions are imposing: its base is 60m long, 30m wide and 20m high. The construction is Maya rather than Toltec, although a Toltec sacrificial stone stands in front.
A smaller adjoining building to the east, known as La Iglesia (The Church), is covered almost entirely with carvings. Currently, on the far side at the back there are some passageways that are still open, leading a short way into the labyrinth inside. They are dank, slippery, smell o…
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Gran Pirámide
Though it's adjacent to the Governor's Palace, a sign by the steps of the Gran Pirámide warns 'it is dangerous to go up' from the rear of the palace. Most visitors ignore the sign and take the shortcut from the palace's southwest corner. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, retrace your route to go back down the hillside stairs and then keep turning left following the base of the platform until you reach the pyramid's steps.
The 32m-high pyramid has been restored only on its northern side. Archaeologists theorize that the quadrangle at its summit was largely destroyed in order to construct another pyramid above it. That work, for reasons unknown, was never completed…
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Casa del Adivino
As you climb the slope to the ruins, the Casa del Adivino comes into view. This tall temple (the name translates as 'Magician's House'), 39m high, was built in an unusual oval shape. It gives rather a bad first impression of Uxmal to the visitor, consisting of round stones held rudely together with lots of cement. What you see is a restored version of the temple's fifth incarnation.
Four earlier temples were completely covered in the final rebuilding by the Maya, except for the high doorway on the west side, which remains from the fourth temple. Decorated in elaborate Chenes style (a style that originated further south), the doorway proper forms the mouth of a gigantic Ch…
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El Caracol
Called El Caracol by the Spaniards for its interior spiral staircase, this observatory, to the south of the Ossuary, is one of the most fascinating and important of all Chichén Itzá's buildings (but, alas, you can't enter it). Its circular design resembles some central highlands structures, although, surprisingly, not those of Toltec Tula. In a fusion of architectural styles and religious imagery, there are Maya Chac rain-god masks over four external doors facing the cardinal points.
The windows in the observatory's dome are aligned with the appearance of certain stars at specific dates. From the dome the priests decreed the times for rituals, celebrations, corn-plantin…
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Palacio del Gobernador
The Palacio del Gobernador, with its magnificent façade nearly 100m long, has been called 'the finest structure at Uxmal and the culmination of the Puuc style' by Mayanist Michael D Coe. The buildings have walls filled with rubble, faced with cement and then covered in a thin veneer of limestone squares; the lower part of the façade is plain, the upper part festooned with stylized Chac faces and geometric designs, often latticelike or fretted. Other elements of Puuc style are decorated cornices, rows of half-columns (as in the House of the Turtles) and round columns in doorways (as in the palace at Sayil). Stones forming the corbeled vaults in Puuc style are shaped somewh…
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Catedral de San Ildefonso
On the plaza Grande’s east side, on the site of a former Maya temple, is Mérida’s hulking, severe cathedral, begun in 1561 and completed in 1598. Some of the stone from the Maya temple was used in its construction. The massive crucifix behind the altar is Cristo de la Unidad (Christ of Unity), a symbol of reconciliation between those of Spanish and Maya heritage. To the right over the south door is a painting of Tutul Xiu, cacique (indigenous chief) of the town of Maní paying his respects to his ally Francisco de Montejo at T’ho (de Montejo and Xiu jointly defeated the Cocomes; Xiu converted to Christianity, and his descendants still live in Mérida).
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Hacienda Ochil
Lying about 44km south of Mérida, Hacienda Ochil provides a fascinating, though basic, look at how henequén was grown and processed. From the parking lot follow the ‘truck’ tracks – used by the small wheeled carts to haul material to and from the processing plant – to the right around the parklike, restored portion of the hacienda. You’ll pass workshops where you might see locals fashioning handicrafts for sale and a small henequén museum with exhibits illustrating the cultivating, harvesting and processing of the plant. These include pieces of machinery and photos of hacienda life. Iguanas abound.
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Calcehtok Caves
The Calcehtok caves are said by some to comprise the longest dry-cave system on the Yucatán Peninsula. More than 4km have been explored so far, and two of the caves’ 25 vaults exceed 100m in diameter (one has a 30m-high ‘cupola’). The caves hold abundant and impressive natural formations, human and animal remains and plenty of artifacts, including many haltunes (stone basins carved by the Maya to catch water). Archaeologists have found and removed ceramic arrowheads, quartz hammers and other tools, and you can still see low fortifications built by the Maya who sheltered here during the War of the Castes.
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Casa de Montejo
The Casa de Montejo is on the south side of the Plaza Grande and dates from 1549. It originally housed soldiers but was soon converted into a mansion that served members of the Montejo family until 1970. These days it houses a bank, and you can enter and look around during bank hours. At other times, content yourself with a close look at the facade, where triumphant conquistadors with halberds hold their feet on the necks of generic barbarians (though they’re not Maya, the association is inescapable). Typical of the symbolism in colonial statuary, the vanquished are rendered much smaller than the victors.
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Casa de las Tortugas
To the right at the top of the stairs is the Casa de las Tortugas, which takes its name from the turtles carved on the cornice. The Maya associated turtles with the rain god, Chac. According to Maya myth, when the people suffered from drought so did the turtles, and both prayed to Chac to send rain.
The frieze of short columns, or 'rolled mats,' that runs around the temple below the turtles is characteristic of the Puuc style. On the west side of the building a vault has collapsed, affording a good view of the corbeled arch - remember that the Maya never mastered keystone arch design - that supported it.
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Museo de Arte Sacro
Convento de San Francisco de Asís in Conkal now houses the new Museo de Arte Sacro. This is a small but well-done museum of religious art and artifacts, including 18th- and 19th- century altarpieces and carvings of saints, good historical and archaeological exhibits detailing the foundation (and later restoration) of Yucatán’s monasteries, and contemporary profane and religious artwork. Some of the latter is surprisingly racy. All labeling is in Spanish. Be sure to check out the architecture of the convent itself, including the noria (irrigation system) out back.
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Palacio Municipal
Across the square from the Catedral de San Ildefonso is Mérida’s Palacio Municipal. Originally built in 1542, it was twice refurbished, in the 1730s and the 1850s. Adjoining it is the Centro Cultural Olimpo, Mérida’s municipal cultural center. Attempts to create a modern exterior for the building were halted by government order, to preserve the colonial character of the plaza. The ultramodern interior serves as a venue for music and dance performances, as well as other exhibitions. Schedules for performances and frequent film showings are posted outside.
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Xlapak
From the entrance gate at Sayil, it’s 6km east to the entrance gate at Xlapak. The name means ‘Old Walls’ in Maya and was a general term among local people for ancient ruins. The ornate palacio at Xlapak ( shla -pak) is quite a bit smaller than those at Kabah and Sayil, only about 20m in length. It’s decorated with the Chac masks, columns and colonnettes, and fretted geometric latticework of the Puuc style. The building is interesting and on a bit of a lean. Plenty of motmots (a colorful bird) brighten up the surrounding forests.
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Museo de Arte Popular de Yucatán
In a building built in 1906, the Museo de Arte Popular de Yucatán is six blocks east of the Plaza Grande. There’s a small rotating exhibit downstairs that features pop art from around Mexico, but honestly, you’re better off heading to any artisan market in the countryside – you’ll see the same style of work, and it won’t cost you a single peso, unless you want to buy something. The upstairs exhibits don’t have any explanatory signs yet, but they give you an idea of how locals embroider huipiles, carve ceremonial masks and weave hammocks.
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El Osario
The Ossuary, otherwise known as the Bonehouse or the Tumba del Gran Sacerdote (High Priest's Grave), is a ruined pyramid to the southwest of El Castillo. As with most of the buildings in this southern section, the architecture is more Puuc than Toltec. It's notable for the beautiful serpent heads at the base of its staircases. A square shaft at the top of the structure leads into a cave beneath it that was used as a burial chamber; seven tombs with human remains were discovered inside. These days a snack bar with telephone and toilets stands nearby.
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Uxmal
Pronounced oosh-mahl, Uxmal is one impressive set of ruins, easily ranking among the top Maya archaeological sites. It is a large site with some fascinating structures in good condition and bearing a riot of ornamentation. Adding to its appeal is Uxmal’s setting in the hilly Puuc region, which lent its name to the architectural patterns in this area. Puuc means ‘hills, ’ and these, rising up to about 100m, are the first relief from the flatness of the northern and western portions of the peninsula.
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Grutas de Loltún
These caverns are the largest, most interesting cave system on the Yucatán Peninsula, and a treasure trove of data for archaeologists. Carbon dating of artifacts found here reveals that humans used the caves 2200 years ago. Chest-high murals of hands, faces, animals and geometric motifs were apparent as recently as 20 years ago, but so many people have touched them that barely a trace remains. Now, visitors to the illuminated caves see mostly natural limestone formations, some of which are quite lovely.
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Museo Regional de Antropología
The massive Palacio Cantón houses Yucatán’s regional anthropology museum. Construction of the mansion lasted from 1909 until 1911, and its owner, General Francisco Cantón Rosado (1833–1917), lived here for only six years before his death. The palacio’s splendor and pretension make it a fitting symbol of the grand aspirations of Mérida’s elite during the last years of the Porfiriato, the period from 1876 to 1911 when Porfirio Díaz held despotic sway over Mexico.
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Palacio de Gobierno
On the north side of the Plaza Grande, the Palacio de Gobierno houses the state of Yucatán’s executive government offices (and one of its tourist information centers). It was built in 1892 on the site of the palace of the colonial governors. Be sure to have a look inside at the murals painted by local artist Fernando Castro Pacheco. Completed in 1978, they were 25 years in the making and portray a symbolic history of the Maya and their interaction with the Spaniards.
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Chichén Itzá
The most famous and best restored of the Yucatán Maya sites, Chichén Itzá, while tremendously overcrowded – every gawker and his or her grandmother is trying to check off the new seven wonders of the world – will still impress even the most jaded visitor. Many mysteries of the Maya astronomical calendar are made clear when one understands the design of the ‘time temples’ here. Other than a few minor passageways, climbing on the structures is not allowed.
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