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Chichén Itzá

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Chac Mool statue at a temple, Temple Of Warriors, Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico

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Overview

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. Yes, it's goosebump material. 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.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • El Castillo (Temple of Kukulkan), Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico

    El Castillo

    Chichén Itzá

    Upon entering Chichén Itzá, El Castillo (aka the Pyramid of Kukulcán) rises before you in all its grandeur. The first temple here was pre-Toltec, built…

  • ring carved on the Great ball court of Chichen Itza

    Gran Juego de Pelota

    Chichén Itzá

    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…

  • Grupo de las Mil Columnas

    Grupo de las Mil Columnas

    Chichén Itzá

    This group east of El Castillo pyramid takes its name – which means ‘Group of the Thousand Columns’ – from the forest of pillars stretching south and east…

  • El Caracol

    El Caracol

    Chichén Itzá

    Called El Caracol (the Snail) by the Spaniards for its interior spiral staircase, this observatory, to the south of the El Osario, is one of the most…

  • Edificio de las Monjas

    Edificio de las Monjas

    Chichén Itzá

    Thought by archaeologists to have been a palace for Maya royalty, the so-called Edificio de las Monjas (Nunnery), with its myriad rooms, resembled a…

  • Cenote Sagrado

    Cenote Sagrado

    Chichén Itzá

    From the Plataforma de Venus, a 250m rough stone sacbé (path) runs north to the huge sunken well that gave this city its name. The Sacred Cenote is some…

  • El Osario

    El Osario

    Chichén Itzá

    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…

  • Plataforma de los Cráneos

    Plataforma de los Cráneos

    Chichén Itzá

    The Platform of Skulls (Tzompantli in Náhuatl, a Maya dialect) is between the Templo de los Jaguares y Escudos and El Castillo. You can’t mistake it,…

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