Templo de la Calavera

Palenque


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.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Palenque attractions

1. Templo de las Inscripciones Group

0.02 MILES

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…

2. Templo XIII

0.03 MILES

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…

4. Templo XI

0.07 MILES

Overgrown and of little interest, Templo XI is the first structure you'll see entering the site from the main entrance.

5. Main Entrance

0.07 MILES

Main entrance to the ruins with snack bars. You're likely to be launched upon by guides; ensure they are the registered guides, identifiable by their ID…

6. Templo de las Inscripciones

0.07 MILES

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

7. Palenque Ruins

0.08 MILES

Ancient Palenque stands at the precise point where the first hills rise out of the Gulf coast plain, and the dense jungle covering these hills forms an…

8. Templo XXIV

0.1 MILES

The height of Templo XXIV has given rise to the theory that it may also have been used for astronomical observation.