Chichén Itzá

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

Getty Images/Panoramic Images

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.

01 / Attractions

Must-see attractions

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…
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
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
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
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
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
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
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,…