Must see attractions in Palenque

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As you walk in from the entrance the vegetation suddenly peels away to reveal many of Palenque’s most magnificent buildings in one sublime vista. A line…

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Perhaps the most celebrated burial monument in the Americas, this is the tallest and most stately of Palenque’s buildings. Constructed on eight levels,…

In the jungle south of the Grupo de las Cruces is the Southern Acropolis, where archaeologists have made some terrific finds in recent excavations. You…

Pakal’s son, Kan B’alam II, was a prolific builder, and soon after the death of his father started designing the temples of the Grupo de las Cruces (Group…

East of the Grupo Norte, the main path crosses Arroyo Otolum. Some 70m beyond the stream, a right fork will take you to Grupo C, a set of jungle-covered…

In 1999, in Templo XIX, archaeologists made the most important Palenque find for decades: an 8th-century limestone platform with stunning carvings of…

The Templo del Sol, on the west side of the Acrópolis Sur plaza, has the best-preserved roofcomb at Palenque. Carvings inside, commemorating Kan B’alam’s…

Steep steps climb to the Templo de la Cruz, the largest and most elegantly proportioned in Grupo de las Cruces. The stone tablet in the central sanctuary…

The corbel arches here are fully exposed, revealing how Palenque’s architects designed these buildings. A well-preserved inscribed tablet shows a king …

This temple contains the tomb of a female dignitary, whose remains were found colored red (as a result of treatment with cinnabar) when unearthed in 1994…

Largely unrestored and being reclaimed by the jungle, this temple is a photographer's favorite.

Agua Azul is a breathtaking sight, with its powerful and dazzling white waterfalls thundering into turquoise (outside rainy season) pools surrounded by…

Diagonally opposite the Templo de las Inscripciones is El Palacio, a large structure divided into four main courtyards, with a maze of corridors and rooms…

Palenque’s site museum is well worth a wander, displaying finds from the site and interpreting, in English and Spanish, Palenque’s history. Highlights…

Discovered in 1999, Templo XX contains a red-frescoed tomb built in 540 that is currently Palenque's most active dig. Archaeologists began restoration…

North of El Palacio is a Juego de Pelota and the handsome buildings of the Northern Group. Crazy Count de Waldeck lived in the so-called Templo del Conde,…

Between the Cruces group and the Acrópolis Sur, this temple contains a reproduction carved panel depicting Kan B’alam, standing with a spear, with a bound…

Just north of the Grupo Norte, this small group of buildings is right before the bridge across the Arroyo Otolum, which gives access to the Grupo de los…

In 2002, archaeologists found a throne in Templo XXI with very fine carvings depicting Ahkal Mo’ Nahb', his ancestor the great Pakal, and his son U Pakal.

Also called Templo XII, this temple takes its popular name from the relief sculpture of a rabbit or deer skull at the foot of one of its pillars.