The ancient city of Chichen Itza in which. Chichen Itza is an ancient Mayan city in Mexico, where the famous Mayan pyramids and temples are located
Half past six in the morning. “When the alarm clock rings in the morning, I feel like I’m being shot...” So it seems to me, too, that I hear gunshots, and not a cute pop tune trying to wake me up. Why so early? Why... Exactly! Today we are going to Chichen Itza - the famous complex of ancient Mayan pyramids.
“If we don’t wake up right now, we won’t leave early, if we don’t leave early, we won’t see Chichen Itza in the ringing purity of the coming day, but we’ll bump shoulders with other tourists,” I lie and reason, trying to finally cheer myself up. Having a goal gives an incentive - it works flawlessly. Climb!
A little over an hour later, Andryusiks and I are sitting in a colectivo taking us to the “Mouth of the Well of Water Sorcerers.” Don’t be afraid, we didn’t mix up the direction, this is how the name “Chichen Itza” is translated from the Mayan language.
After another forty minutes we find ourselves at the entrance to the archaeological zone, we are the first of the visitors to buy tickets and at exactly eight o’clock we overcome the turnstile separating us from the pyramids. The goal was achieved: we reached the complex at the very opening, when the bulk of tourists were still sleeping or just traveling from Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Merida. Nothing can replace those golden morning hours of silence and solitary walking through ancient ruins.
Attractions of Chichen Itza
Complex Chichen Itza(Chichén Itzá) is considered one of the main and most beloved tourist attractions Yucatan Peninsula. Why? We’ll deal with these a little later, but for now follow us, maybe you’ll understand everything yourself.
While you are reading it, Andryusiks and I are standing, looking at the Sacred Cenote and suddenly we see a bird on a tree. “So what?” you ask. And the fact is that the bird is not an easy one, but one that we have already hunted for several times, trying to photograph. Andryusiks even gave her a name - Bird of Happiness.
And what do you think? Today he manages to catch his Bird of Happiness!
On this optimistic note, we leave Chichen Itza and move on to Cenote Ik Kil. But that's a completely different story.
Is Chichen Itza worth visiting? No matter what, yes. You can’t miss this, otherwise you’ll end up with a situation a la “Coming to Moscow and not seeing Red Square.”
But there is one "but". Remember when I said that Chichen Itza is very popular with tourists? Do you know what thoughts I have on this matter? It seems to me that there are so many tourists here because the pyramids of Chichen Itza are the most accessible in the Yucatan. They are most conveniently accessible from Cancun, and indeed the entire Riviera Maya, Merida, Valladolid. That's why they are the most visited. I do not belittle the merits of this complex, but I also do not believe that it is indisputably the best in Mexico. Undoubtedly, if we compare this complex with nearby Koba or Ek-Balam, it wins both in scale and significance. But we drove through more than half of Mexico, seeing Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, Uxmal, Palenque, Etzna, and these pyramids were no less impressive than Chichen Itza, and some were even several times more impressive.
Enjoy your walks around Chichen Itza, dear readers!
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Approximately 120 kilometers southeast of the city of Merida are the ruins of the ancient city of Chichen Itza. This is the most famous archaeological site of the Mayan period and the state of Yucatan
We continue the series of stories about the pyramids of the world from LifeGlobe. Last time we talked about the underwater pyramids of the island of Yonaguni, now we came through a story about the great city of the Mayans, their culture and buildings.
Contrary to popular belief, the Mayans were not an empire - they were a group of autonomous cities, often interacting with other states in the region. Chichen Itza and many other important Mayan cities were built in accordance with the sacred beliefs of the Indians - the cities were built to reflect the position of various astronomical objects in the night sky
So who built this anyway? ancient city and his pyramids? Mayans were ancient civilization southern Mexico and other South American countries - Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and El Salvador. Nowadays, about 6 million descendants of the Mayans live here, speaking many different dialects
The Mayan people were very knowledgeable about astronomy, and during the first millennium AD, they studied and mapped in detail the movement patterns of the sun, moon, and other planets and stars. Their religion and mythology were based on this, explaining the past, present and future. The Mayans also invented a brilliant mathematical system, a writing system, and a combination of three accurate interconnected calendars.
In addition to the city of Chichen Itza, the Mayans are also famous for a number of other temple cities, such as Palenque, Uxmal, Copan, etc. Many of these cities have been restored by archaeologists, while some remain underground and await their turn. It is also worth noting that the Mayans were able to navigate long distances across the ocean by developing a sophisticated method of navigating by the stars
Let us turn specifically to the history of the construction of the city of Chichen Itza. Proto-Mayan tribes inhabited the flat plateau of the Yucatan Peninsula for 8,000 years. Archaeologists believe that this place has been an important pilgrimage site for thousands of years.
Chichen Itza became the capital and social center of the Maya in the eighth century. First, the coastal territories of Yucatan were settled, then settlements spread throughout the entire peninsula. Thanks to two great sources clean water, not drying out throughout the year, Chichen Itza became the most powerful Mayan city
In the 10th century, the city was captured by the Toltecs, making Chichen Itza the capital of the Toltec state, but was later recaptured by the united army of three Mayan cities. After the 12th century Yucatan for mysterious reasons deserted because the Spanish conquerors destroyed the Mayan manuscripts and priests. By the time of the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, Chichen Itza was a complete ruin
As a result of excavations in the city, many architectural monuments were discovered, in particular, famous pyramids Chichen Itza. The most prominent among them is the Temple of Kukulkan - a pyramid of 9 steps 24 meters high. It is amazing that on the days of the autumn and spring equinoxes, the rays of the sun illuminate the stairs of the pyramid in such a way that they form an image of seven isosceles triangles, which, in turn, make up the body of a 37-meter snake, crawling as the sun moves to its head, carved in stone at the base stairs
The Temple of the Warriors of Chichen Itza is located on a small pyramid of 4 steps, adjacent to it is the Temple of the Jaguars and the Mayan observatory called Caracol. Surprisingly, the Mayans played football. Naturally, not in the form in which it is customary to play this game now, but nevertheless, during the excavations, 7 large fields for playing ball were discovered. The length of the largest field was 135 meters
It was also possible to preserve statues of gods, with very interesting detail and execution style, as well as many handicraft items and various utensils. A sacred well 50 meters deep, probably used for sacrifices, has also been preserved.
In our time, the Mexican government bought a plot of land of 83 hectares on which the city of Chichen Itza is located in order to preserve it. This is one of the main attractions of Mexico, recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site. In 2007, the city was recognized as one of the new seven wonders of the world.
Similar cities The Aztecs also had them in Mexico, for example the city of Teotihuacan, which looked no less majestic.
Chichen Itza undoubtedly contains remarkable ruins that hardly anyone has ever seen before.
The most important treasures of the most famous and most magnificent of the Mayan cities await their explorers: Indian pyramids, palaces, an observatory, a ball court and others most interesting monuments architecture generously offers Chichen Itza to the inquisitive visitor. The ancient city is incredibly popular among tourists as an object of world cultural heritage and as one of the new wonders of the world.
Story
The city was named Chichen Itza, which literally means “At the Well (of the Itza Tribe). The name “Itza” was given to the Mayan tribe, who found a life-giving cenote in 455 and built a city next to it. In 692, the Indians, for a reason unknown to us, left the city, which was beautiful and majestic, and there was always an abundance of drinking water. From the end of the 7th century, the darkness of oblivion fell like a heavy blanket over Chichen Itza, and the buildings and temples that grew up around the cenote Stolok began to fall into disrepair. But in the 11th century, the Toltecs came to the city from central Mexico - Chichen Itza found a new lease of life, becoming the capital of the Toltec state. The noisy wars “bleded” the city, the Toltecs had already lost their power in these unfriendly places, and the 14th century brought a bitter taste of decline to the streets of Chichen Itza. The city became deserted, the majestic buildings, shrouded only in the noise of the nearby jungle, ceased to resist the crushing pressure of time, and the Spanish conquerors found only ruins here.
Chichen Itza emerged from its long sleep only in 1843, when it was rediscovered for human history by the American John Stevens.
The most popular architectural monuments of Chichen Itza
Pyramid of Kukulkan
El Castillo or the Pyramid of Kukulcan was undoubtedly the heart of the Mayan and Toltec capital. This structure with a square base has nine steps. Four staircases bordered by a balustrade lead to its top, which begin on the first floor in the form of a slightly raised, beautifully executed snake head and continue its path like a snake body to the upper floor. Each staircase consists of 91 steps, and if the number of steps is multiplied by the number of stairs, the result is 364 steps and the 365th step at the top of the pyramid symbolizes the last day of the past year. At the top there is a temple, the entrance to which, decorated with columns in the form of snake bodies, is located on the north side. On the days when the equinox arrives, you can see a stunning spectacle: the play of light and shadow on the balustrade of the main staircase creates the impression of a giant snake crawling from the top of the pyramid - this is the appearance of Kukulkan, the feathered serpent.
Temple of Warriors
About the Temple of Warriors modern world I found out only in 1925, when a French Mayaitologist cut off a century-old layer of clay from a four-level pyramid with a base of forty by forty meters. In front of the temple there is a platform with a dozen rows of three-meter columns, decorated with a frieze depicting a Toltec warrior in parade. Here the military leaders ended their earthly journey, in whose honor this temple was erected. At the top of the temple there is a large stone sculpture, the symbol of Chichen Itza - the reclining god Chac-Mool.
Karakol
With the new rulers of the city - the Toltecs - new Mexican gods and new orders came to Chichen Itza. The monument to the “feathered serpent” is not at all Mayan, and what it was originally called is unknown; the Spaniards called it “Caracol”, which means “snail”. The building is located half a kilometer from the majestic Pyramid of Kukulkan and is already striking from afar. This is a structure with a circular horizontal projection, and in Mexico only the sanctuaries of the “feathered serpent” have a cylindrical shape. Later, the building was surrounded by a terrace, a second floor, also round in shape, but smaller in size, was erected and four square holes were made in its walls. Holes made in the walls were designed according to the trajectory of celestial bodies and allowed ancient astronomers to study astronomical phenomena, monitor the movement of the sun and the equinoxes. The rear opening allowed ancient astrologers to observe the autumn and spring equinoxes; the sun on September 21 and March 21 stood opposite the astrologer's eyes. One way or another, Caracol turned into a real observatory of the Indians, and the Mayans managed to remain faithful to the thirst for knowledge of the universe and connected Caracol not only with formidable gods, but also with the calendar.
Venus platform
Together with the Toltecs, Venus entered the pantheon of gods of Chichen Itza. The monument dedicated to this goddess, called the Platform of Venus, is decorated with the most terrifying faces of the “Morning Star”. A low, square pyramid, framed on four sides by wide stairs, is crowned with a platform, and it was here that the ruthless Toltec priests made human sacrifices to the gods. True, in the month of Shul, which was the sixth month in the Mayan calendar, cheerful festivities took place on this site, and theatrical performances dedicated to Kukulkan were given.
Cenote Shtolok
In the summer, residents of the Mayan capital, tormented by the heat, quenched their thirst here, at a natural reservoir in a karst fissure, dedicated to the god Shtolok. Cenotes have always played an important role in Mayan religion, but this well was a simple urban water storage, and in its wall there is a hewn staircase along which women once descended to the dark water to fill their clay vessels with life-giving moisture.
Well of Death or Sacred Cenote
The diameter of this well is 60 meters and this place has a history that is frightening for modern people: priests threw young girls into this well to a depth of fifty meters, sacrificing them to the Mexican gods.
Iglesia
The building has elements of a distinct Puuk style: the huge, magnificent façade of the building is decorated with a three-part entablature. There is only one entrance to the building - a small doorway, which is practically invisible under the weight of the triple entablature. The main theme of the rich façade is the nosed Chuck masks, between which you can see the figures of an armadillo, a crab, a turtle and a sea mollusk in a large shell.
Temple of Skulls, Tzompantli
The “Wall of Skulls” is a reflection of the cruel Mexican cult, which demanded human sacrifices during religious rites. This is a kind of “warehouse of the dead”, the walls of which depict terrifying reliefs arranged in three rows above each other, which depict hundreds of skulls impaled on poles. The blood of human victims undoubtedly once flowed along the stairs of Tsompatli, and it is “decorated” by images of warriors carrying the severed heads of enemies in their hands.
Ball field
This field is equal to a modern stadium, its width is 68 meters, and its length is about 166 meters. The field is surrounded by twelve-meter walls. On the side walls of this grandiose playground, richly decorated rings are fixed at an eight-meter height. The field is the largest in Mesoamerica, and at the site, guides always demonstrate to tourists the excellent acoustics of this place.
Helpful information
The archaeological zone is open from 8 am to 5 pm. Unfortunately, in Chichen Itza it is forbidden to climb the pyramids, enter the temples and touch the ancient stones, you are only allowed to admire amazing architecture Mayan cities. Admission ticket entrance to the complex costs 204 pesos, that is, 59 pesos is the cost of the ticket itself, but 145 pesos is paid as a tax imposed on visiting the ruins.
Near Chichen Itza there is Piste - locality where souvenirs are sold, cafes and restaurants, as well as hotels have been built. But mostly tourists rent rooms in Piste from local residents.
You can get to Chichen Itza from the city of Valladolid by minibus or from the ADO bus station by bus. For a bus you will need to pay 26 pesos, and for a minibus 25 pesos. You can also get to the attraction from Merida by bus, and the ticket will cost 125 pesos. But it’s best to go to Chichen Itza with excursion group, from tour operators the excursion costs about $120.
Ancient city of Chichen Itza- Mayan heritage; the most ancient city on the Yucatan Peninsula. Located 120 km from the capital of the region - the city of Merida, and 205 km from the popular resort of Cancun. Probably everyone who has ever been to Mexico wanted to see the remains of this ancient settlement, which is ranked among the new wonders of the world. Chichen Itza is included in the version of our site.
This is a special place where the Mayan Indians once lived and worshiped their gods. For unknown reasons, they were forced to leave the city, which later became the prey of conquerors: first the Toltecs, and then the Spaniards. In the Mayan language, the sonorous name of the settlement was translated as “The mouth of the well of the Itza tribe.” It is no coincidence that the word “well” appears in this phrase, because 13 cenotes, so-called natural wells, were dug on the territory of the city.
By the way, one of these wells, the “Sacred Cenote,” served for sacrifices to the God of Water. On the territory of the deserted settlement there was also preserved famous Temple Kukulkan, with which there is a lot of symbolism associated. This is a pyramidal structure, on top of which stands a temple for sacrifices. Visitors are prohibited from going up to the temple. There are 4 wide staircases leading up, each of which consists of 91 steps.
If you multiply the number of stairs by the number of steps and add one to the resulting number, you get the number 365, that is, exactly the number of days in a year. In addition, every year on the days of the spring and autumn equinox, an unforgettable show takes place on the stairs of the pyramid. At about 3 p.m., the sun illuminates the main staircase so that shadows appear in the form of triangles, folding into the tail of a snake. Because of this, Kukulcan is sometimes called the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent. In the evenings in Chichen Itza you can see the same artificially created light show.
Many tourists linger on the huge court, created for brutal ball games. The ancient Mayan ball was so heavy that it could only be hit with the thigh. Well, as expected, every game ended with a sacrifice. According to chronology, the city was founded perhaps in the 7th century AD. as a religious center for a Mexican tribe. Today, the remains of the buildings are conventionally divided into two parts: old and new. The most significant buildings are located in the new central part. At the entrance to the complex there are souvenir shops and cafes.
The most convenient way to get to the ruins is by bus from Merida or Cancun. You can also drive to Chichen Itza with a rental car. The route runs along both a toll (shorter) and free road.
(Chichen Itza) is an ancient city founded by the Mayans in the 6th century. The Pyramids of Chichen Itza are one of the most visited sites in the Yucatan. The name Chichen Itza itself is translated from the Mayan language as “ Mayan well", due to the fact that on the territory of the ancient city there are 13 cenotes (natural wells). One of them, the Sacred Cenote, served as a sacrifice to the Rain God.
In the 10th century, the city of Chichen Itza was captured by the Toltecs, and in 1194 the city was deserted. Why the residents left Chichen Itza is still not known.
Ancient city and pyramids of Chichen Itza located on the Yucatan Peninsula, 205 km from famous resort and 120 km from Merida. Chichen Itza is one of the most popular and most visited attractions in the Yucatan Peninsula. Almost all tourists who come on vacation to Mexico, to Cancun, consider it their duty to visit archaeological complex Chichen Itza, so there are always a lot of people here. It is advisable to arrive at the opening, then you have a chance to walk around the complex alone 😎
The ancient city and pyramids of Chichen Itza are protected by UNESCO.
How to get to the pyramids of Chichen Itza, Mexico
- By bus. ADO buses run from Cancun and Merida. The cost of a ticket Cancun - Chichen Itza is 80 - 140 pesos (depending on the class of the bus). Travel time is 3-4 hours. Ticket price Merida – Chichen Itza 50-80 pesos, travel time 1.45 – 2.5 hours
- Can buy organized excursion to Chichen Itza, group or individual. The excursion can be booked at any hotel or arranged in advance with personal guide. To book a tour, simply follow the link.
- On rented car . In my opinion, this is the best way to get to Chichen Itza. You can see other sights along the way. Read about how to rent a car in Mexico in Cancun. From Cancun you can get to Chichen Itza by toll or toll roads.
Opening hours and cost of visiting the archaeological complex of Chichen Itza
The Chichen Itza complex is open to the public from 8:00 to 17:00. The evening light show takes place at 19:00 in winter and at 20:00 in summer.
Cost of tickets to Chichen Itza: a ticket to Chichen Itza consists of two parts - a ticket for 125 pesos and a ticket for 57 pesos, total entrance fee 182 pesos (14.5 dollars). These are the most expensive pyramids we visited in Mexico 😎
Parking near Chichen Itza is also paid - 22 pesos (just under 2 dollars).
We knew we had to get to Chichen Itza as early as possible, so we left at 6:30 am! It’s good that the time difference with Moscow is 10 hours; in the first days we got up at 6 am without any problems.
We drove to Chichen Itza along a toll road to save time. Traveling along the Cancun-Chichen Itza toll road is not at all cheap: we paid twice, the first time 251 pesos, the second time 61 pesos, a total of 312 pesos (almost 25 dollars!!!)….
Toll road Cancun - Chichen Itza ...and for what? A little less than 200 km away. We drove these 200 km in 3 hours, I don’t know how people manage to drive them in 2 hours? We don’t break the rules, we didn’t exceed the speed limit, we stopped once at a gas station for 5 minutes.
We arrived at the entrance to the archaeological complex of Chichen Itza at 9:30 in the morning. 
There were already cars in the parking lot independent travelers, but not as much as I thought. We bought tickets, and the guides immediately began to pester us, but we, of course, refused them. At the entrance to the complex there is a toilet (free), souvenir shops, and a cafe.
The first thing that catches your eye when entering the archaeological zone is the main attraction of Chichen Itza (or El Castillo, translated from Spanish as “the castle”).
The main attraction of Chichen Itza is the Pyramid of Kukulkan This nine-tiered pyramid is 24 meters high, on top of which there is a temple in which sacrifices were made. The Kukulkan pyramid is symmetrical and has four staircases. And each staircase consists of 91 steps. If the number of steps 91 is multiplied by the number of stairs 4 and added one (the upper platform), we get the number 365 - the number of days in a year!
Central (northern) staircase of the Kukulkan pyramid 
Not main staircase pyramids of Kukulkan :) The Pyramid of Kukulcan is also known as Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent . Every year, on the days of the equinox, March 20 and September 21, many people come to the Kukulkan pyramid to look at one very interesting phenomenon: at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon the sun illuminates the main staircase of the pyramid so that shadows are formed - triangles, together similar to the tail of a snake; as the sun moves, the triangles go out and form the effect of a snake crawling down.
By the way, you can see this spectacle at the nightly light show.
Temple of Warriors 
Let's go to "group of a thousand columns"
, here is a place called the market.
In general, this part of the Chichen Itza archaeological zone is quite sparsely populated and calm. And the sun is not too hot, it’s nice to take a walk or relax under the canopy of trees. 
Attracts attention ball field
. This is one of the largest fields in the complex, its length is 166 m, width 68 m, wall height 12 m. Stone rings are fixed at a height of 8m. The Mayans played ball here. The game was called “pot-ta-pok”, it was played with a rubber ball that weighed about 4 kg and could only be hit with the hip. It is assumed that the game ended with a sacrifice.
Field for playing ball: on the wall there is a ring where, according to the rules of the game, the ball had to be scored You cannot climb the Kukulkan pyramid or other ruins. They say that before it was possible to climb the pyramid, but then this activity was banned. Either someone fell from the pyramid, or they are simply afraid that the pyramid will deteriorate and collapse... Therefore, a walk around the Chichen Itza complex did not take us much time - only two hours. 
When we headed towards the exit, around 11:30, crowds of tourists began to arrive, there were many Russian-speaking groups.
Watch a short video from this amazing place 😎
Immediately, local merchants had already set up their stalls with souvenirs. By the way, you can buy souvenirs inexpensively here. Much cheaper than Cancun. They sell a lot of interesting masks here, which we never saw anywhere else during our further trip to Mexico. Later we regretted that we had not bought any souvenirs near Chichen Itza. If you need souvenirs, buy them here and be sure to bargain!
Souvenirs in Chichen Itza for every taste and cheaper than in Cancun 
You can spend the night near the Chichen Itza complex in one of the hotels. Choose to your taste and enjoy your vacation 😎 At the same time, you will be able to visit the archaeological complex of Chichen Itza twice: during the day, see the sights, and in the evening come to watch the evening light and music show, for which you do not need to buy a separate ticket, the cost is already included in day tickets.
And two simpler hotels (3 stars):
We didn’t spend the night near the Chichen Itza pyramids, but moved on; an interesting, rich program lay ahead of us, so subscribe to the site’s newsletter to receive notifications about new blog articles! 😎
