In Chichen Itza, without a doubt, there are noteworthy 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 other interesting architectural monuments Chichen Itza generously offers 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 means literally "At the well (of the tribe) Itza." The name "Itza" was carried by the Mayan tribe, who found a life-giving cenote in 455 and built a city next to it. In 692, the Indians, for some 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, a haze of oblivion descended on Chichen Itza like a heavy veil, and the buildings and temples that grew up around the cenote Shtolok began to fall into disrepair. But in the 11th century, the Toltecs came to the city from central Mexico - Chichen Itza gained a new breath, becoming the capital of the Toltec state. The noisy wars "bled" the city, the Toltecs had already lost their power in these unfriendly places, and the XIV century brought a bitter aftertaste of decadence to the streets of Chichen Itza. The city was deserted, majestic buildings, shrouded only by 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 a 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 Kukulkan was without a doubt the heart of the Mayan and Toltec capital. This building 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 their way like a snake body to the upper floor. Each ladder consists of 91 steps, and if the number of steps is multiplied by the number of stairs, then the result will be 364 steps and the 365th step of the top of the pyramid symbolizes the last day of the past year. At the top 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 comes, you can see an amazing sight: the play of light and shadow on the balustrade of the main staircase gives the impression of a giant snake crawling from the top of the pyramid - this is the phenomenon of Kukulkan, the feathered serpent.

Temple of Warriors

The modern world learned about the Temple of the Warriors only in 1925, when a French mayitologist cut off a hundred-year-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 during a 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 Chak-Mool.

caracol

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. It is a building with a circular plan, 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 was also built in a round shape, but a smaller one, and four square holes were made in its walls. The holes made in the walls were designed according to the trajectory of celestial bodies and allowed ancient astronomers to study astronomical phenomena, follow the movement of the sun and the equinoxes. The rear opening allowed the ancient astrologers to observe the autumn and spring equinoxes, the sun on September 21 and March 21 stood opposite the eyes of the astrologer. 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 the terrible gods, but also with the calendar.

Venus platform

Together with the Toltecs, Venus entered the pantheon of the gods of Chichen Itza. The monument dedicated to this goddess, called the Platform of Venus, is decorated with the most frightening faces of the "Morning Star". A low, square-shaped 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, fun festivities were held on this site, theatrical performances dedicated to Kukulkan were given.

Cenote Shtolok

In summer, heat-tormented residents of the Mayan capital quenched their thirst here, by a natural reservoir in a karst fissure, dedicated to the god Shtolok. Cenotes have always played an important role in Maya religion, but this well was a simple city water storage, and a hewn staircase was preserved in its wall, along which women once descended to dark water to fill their clay vessels with life-giving moisture.

Death well or sacred cenote

The diameter of this well is 60 meters and this place has a frightening history for modern people: priests threw young girls to a depth of fifty meters into this well, sacrificing them to the Mexican gods.

Iglesia

A building with elements of a pronounced Puuk style: a huge magnificent facade of the building is decorated with a three-part entablature. Only one entrance leads to the building - a small doorway, which is practically invisible under the weight of the triple entablature. The main plot of the rich facade is Chuck's nosed 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 the Skulls, Tzompantli

A reflection of the cruel Mexican cult, which required human sacrifice during religious rites, is the "Wall of Skulls". This is a kind of "warehouse of the dead", the walls of which depict terrifying, arranged in three rows one above the other, reliefs that depict hundreds of skulls impaled on poles. Undoubtedly, the blood of human victims once flowed along the stairs of Tsompatli, and it is “decorated” with images of warriors carrying the severed heads of enemies in their hands.

Ball game field

This field is equal to a modern stadium, its width is 68 meters, and it is about 166 meters long. The field is fenced with 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 will certainly 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, it is only allowed to admire amazing architecture Mayan cities. The entrance ticket 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. You will need to pay 26 pesos for the bus, and 25 pesos for the minibus. From Merida, the sights are also reached by bus, and the ticket will cost 125 pesos. But it is best to go to Chichen Itza as part of an excursion group; tour operators have an excursion that costs about $ 120.

World interest in the heritage of the disappeared Maya civilization has not faded to this day. Numerous religious and cult mysteries, gloomy predictions, the most accurate calendars, gigantic ruined cities, among which the most famous is Chichen Itza, invariably attract crowds of tourists and curious people. The magical ancient ruins have been explored continuously for hundreds of years.

History of the ancient Mayan city - Chichen Itza

Based on archaeological data and fragments of ancient chronicles, the researchers concluded that the famous Mayan city was founded in the 5th-6th centuries AD. It immediately became the center of the Yucatan territory: political, religious, cultural.

All statements regarding Chichen Itza are not confirmed and are hypotheses requiring evidence that are almost impossible to find. According to some reports, from 20 to 30 thousand inhabitants permanently lived in the city. An uncountable number of pilgrims and wanderers, merchants and money changers visited this settlement every year.

In the 10th century, the Mayans were conquered by the Toltecs, Chichen Itza was partially plundered, and most of the population left the city. But life did not leave him. The decline falls on the 13th century from the birth of Christ. Buildings crumbled, people left Chichen Itza.

An ancient city in the modern world

For a long time, no one showed interest in the majestic and sinister ruins. From the middle of the 19th century, a fascination with culture, astrology, and most importantly, the legendary wealth of the Maya began. Numerous excavations and studies began on the territory, artists and photographers from all over the world came to capture bizarre buildings and mysterious temples.

In the 1950s, the Mexican government decided to restore (as far as possible) the original appearance of Chichen Itza. Soon this place became a Mecca for tourists.

In 2007 ancient city was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and named one of the 7 new wonders of the world.

Excursion around Chichen Itza

The area of ​​the city is about 6 km. sq. The surviving architectural complexes are numerous and if you study them in detail, consider each relief and column, then one day for a visit will not be enough. Unfortunately, excursions organized from Cancun are only one-day. There is nowhere to spend the night in Chichen Itza, and it’s creepy.

A professional guide will lead the group along the paved roads, perfectly preserved over a dozen and a half centuries, and will tell you about all the religious buildings of the city. The most significant and huge of them is the pyramid of the Feathered Serpent - Kukulkan. The guide will tell legends about bloody sacrifices, cruelty and religious beliefs of the ancient tribe.

The Temple of Warriors will amaze with the realism of the reliefs and sculptures; it is easy to get lost in the group of "thousand columns". The "ball court" will surprise you with the size of its territory and will give you goosebumps with images of severed heads.

The tour includes a visit to the sacred cenote - a natural reservoir with a diameter of 60 m. There is evidence that Maya girls and children, as well as numerous cult objects, were thrown into this "lake", asking their deities for rain. The variety of impressions and the special energy of the place will not leave anyone indifferent!

Information for tourists

Chichen Itza coordinates: 20.6842849, -88.5677826.

Distances from cities: from Merida - 115 km; from Cancun - 200 km.

Open for visiting: daily from 8:00 to 17:00.

Except famous monuments Maya civilization, Cancun is also interesting for the island of Cozumel, which is ideal for those who want to soak up the beaches or go diving and surfing.

The history of Central America knows several civilizations. But it was the Mayan culture that always attracted me. First of all, I was interested in how this civilization, which did not know either the wheel or iron, could reach such a level of development of the exact sciences, primarily mathematics and astronomy. What buildings did they leave behind? Therefore, when the opportunity for the next trip turned up, I did not hesitate to choose Mexico, the country where Chichen Itza, the iconic Mayan city, whose photo became calling card Central .

History of Chichen Itza, an ancient Mayan city

The first question that interests every traveler who finds himself in this mysterious place is what ancient people built the city of Chichen Itza and when it happened. The city was founded in V-VI centuries by the Itza people, one of the tribes of the Maya civilization. At this time, a stage began in the history of Chichen Itza, which in the pre-Columbian era is identified with the Mayan period. The city was one of the most important cultural centers and flourished until the end of the 7th century, after which it fell into relative decline.

In the X century Chichen Itza conquered by the Toltec tribes and by the middle of the 11th century it became the capital of their state. In the XII century, as a result of a conflict with neighboring city-states, the city was seriously damaged, but after that it still exists and even develops for some time. At the end of the 13th century, for unknown reasons, the city fell into decay and was completely abandoned by people. At the time of the invasion of the Spanish conquerors in the XV-XVI centuries, Chichen Itza was already completely abandoned and partially in ruins.

Since the conquistadors showed no interest in the history of the local peoples, even tried to destroy the traces of their ancient civilizations, no one was interested in the abandoned city for a long time.

Only in the 19th century, on the wave of national liberation movements, as well as the increased interest in science, did the abandoned city attract attention. At first, he was interested in a few private researchers, adventurers and fans of the occult sciences. Then Chichen Itza began to attract tourists and artists. And only in the middle of the 20th century, the unique city became interested at the official level, and the Mexican government decided to partially restore the original appearance of Chichen Itza in order to attract tourists.

Main Attractions

When you are lucky enough to visit this mysterious city, pay attention to such sights:

Pyramid of Kukulkan in the city of Chichen Itza. A grand structure that had both ritual and astronomical significance. Dedicated to Kukulkan - a deity in the form of a feathered serpent with a human head, the patron of rain and wind. The pyramid is identified not only with Chichen Itza and, perhaps, with all the pre-Columbian civilizations of Central America.

It consists of nine steps, which are separated by stairs on each face of the pyramid, into two parts, which gives a pure 18 - the number of days in a month in the Mayan calendar. Each of the four stairs consists of 91 steps, i.e. in total 364, and in combination with the upper platform 365 - the number of days in a year. The faces of the pyramid are located strictly on the cardinal points, and each has 52 relief images, which corresponds to the number of years in the Mayan calendar cycle. At the foot of the northern staircase, a stone head of a snake is carved in such a way that the railing of the stairs is the snake's body.

On the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes, an interesting effect is observed. The shadow from the edge of the pyramid falls on the railing of the stairs in such a way that the illusion of the movement of a giant snake is created. At the top of the pyramid is the sanctuary of Kukulkan itself.

Not so long ago, scientists discovered another, more ancient pyramid under the pyramid of Kukulkan. It also has nine tiers, and inside it was kept the main symbol of the Mayan rulers - a stone throne, known as the Jaguar Mat.

Climbing the pyramid has been banned since 2006., and the traveler is left to be content with close-up contemplation, which, believe me, is not so little.

Other attractions in Chichen Itza

• Mayan Temple in Chichen Itza. A structure located on a four-stage pyramid. The railing of the central staircase is crowned with stone human figures. At the top is the temple itself, at the entrance to which there are two columns in the form of snakes, images of Kukulkan. Near the temple there are four rows of columns with images of warriors.
• Observatory. A round dome mounted on a square platform. Interestingly, the windows are located in such a way that they correspond to the position of celestial bodies relative to the earth.
• Ball game field. A platform measuring 168x70 m, surrounded by a high (up to 8 m) wall. A stone ring was set high on the wall, into which the players had to throw a rubber ball. The foot of the walls is decorated with images of human sacrifices. Moreover, many researchers are inclined to believe that these are the players of the losing team.
• Temple of the Jaguar. It is located on the east side of the ball court. It got its name because of the many images of a jaguar on its facade. Perhaps from here the priests watched the ball game.
• Temple of the Bearded Man. Located north of the ball court. Inside the temple, a relief was found depicting a man with a beard, which was the reason for such a name.
• Sacred Cenote or Well of Death. A natural karst depression with a diameter of up to 60 m and a depth of up to 50 m. It served to dump the bodies of people who were sacrificed.
• Group of a thousand columns. Ruins of columns that form a giant rectangle.
• Pyramid Tomb of the High Priest. A ten-meter pyramid, on top of which there is a platform with tombstones. It may have served as a burial place for the nobility or spiritual leaders of the Maya, from where it got its name.

Mayan warrior temple

How to get there

You can get to the Chichen Itza complex:

• from Merida, the journey by bus will take less than two hours and will cost $12 (first class) or $6.5 (second class);
• from Cancun, by bus for 2.5 hours and $16 (first class) or $12 (second class);

The most mysterious places on Earth: Maya. Chichen Itza - video

How did the Maya manage to create such an advanced culture that they predicted for our civilization, and why do thousands of people seeking spiritual enlightenment lay siege to these ruins every year? Can modern rites unlock the secrets of Chichen Itza? You will learn about this by watching the video. Enjoy watching!

• In 2007, the New Seven Wonders of the World competition was held, as a result of which the pyramids and the city of Chichen Itza itself in Mexico became the finalist of the project.
• UNESCO has recognized the Chichen Itza complex as an object of the material and cultural heritage of mankind.

Staying in the mysterious city of Chichen Itza leaves ambivalent feelings. On the one hand, you understand that you have touched a huge and not fully understood layer of history. On the other hand, the ubiquitous images and stories of guides about the human sacrifices that took place here are somewhat depressing.

Friends, what are your impressions of visiting this place? I look forward to your posts in the comments.

World interest in the heritage of the civilization of the Mayan people does not fade away. Numerous religious and cult mysteries, gloomy predictions and the most accurate calendars, gigantic ruined cities, among which the most famous is Chichen Itza, invariably attract crowds of tourists and curious people. The name itself Chichen Itza from the Mayan language it is translated as “the well of the Mayan tribe”, due to the fact that 13 cenotes (natural wells) are located on the territory of the ancient city.

Chichen Itza: History of the City

Based on archaeological data and fragments of ancient chronicles, the researchers concluded that the famous Mayan city was founded in the 5th-6th centuries AD. It immediately became the center of the Yucatan territory: political, religious, cultural. According to some information (all statements regarding Chichen Itza are not confirmed and are hypotheses that require evidence that is almost impossible to find), from 20 to 30 thousand inhabitants permanently lived in the city. An uncountable number of pilgrims and wanderers, merchants and money changers visited this settlement every year.

In the 10th century, the Maya were conquered by the Taltecs, the city was partially sacked and abandoned by most of the population. But life did not leave him. The decline falls on the 13th century from the birth of Christ. Buildings crumbled, people left Chichen Itza. Since the 15th century, herds of cattle grazed in the territory, once rich, prosperous and populous.

For a long time, no one showed interest in the majestic and sinister ruins. From the middle of the 19th century, a fascination with culture, astrology, and most importantly, the legendary wealth of the Maya began. Scattered, but numerous excavations, studies began on the territory, artists and photographers from all over the world came to capture bizarre buildings and mysterious temples.

In the 2nd half of the last century, the Mexican government decided to restore (as far as possible) the original appearance of Chichen Itza. This place has become a Mecca for tourists.

In 2007 the ancient city Chichen Itza Mexico included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Mayan city of Chichen Itza has been named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Tuzha might have hit and, but not fate.

Chichen Itza, Mexico and the Artistic Value of the Ruins

The area of ​​the city is about 6 km. sq. The surviving architectural complexes are numerous and if you study them in detail, consider each relief and column, one day for a visit will not be enough. Unfortunately, excursions organized from Cancun are only one-day. Overnight in Chichen Itza nowhere, and creepy.

A professional guide will lead the group along paved roads, perfectly preserved over a dozen and a half centuries, and show and tell about all the religious buildings of the city. The largest and largest of them is Pyramid of Chichen Itza called Kukulkan "Feathered Serpent". The guide will entertain (and scare someone) with legends about bloody sacrifices, cruelty and religious beliefs of an ancient tribe. The Temple of Warriors will amaze with the realism of the reliefs and sculptures; it is easy to get lost in the group of “thousand columns”. The ball court will surprise you with the size of its territory and will give you goosebumps with images of severed heads.

The tour includes a visit to the sacred cenote - a natural reservoir, the diameter of which is 60 m. The depth is almost the same. There is evidence that girls and children, as well as numerous cult objects, were thrown into this “lake” by the Maya, asking their deities for rain.

Chichen Itza is the most famous ancient city of the Yucatan. Object status world heritage UNESCO and the inclusion in the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World caused a surge of tourist interest, and now this complex is the second most visited place. archaeological sites in Mexico. An estimated 1.2 million tourists visit the ruins each year. Despite the massive influx of visitors, Chichen Itza continues to impress even the most jaded tourists. A walk among stone temples, pyramids, ball fields gives you the opportunity to truly feel the greatness of the ancient city.

The legendary ruins of Chichen Itza are among the best preserved archaeological sites in Mexico. Despite this, much of what is written and said about this city is based on conjecture and assumptions. One hundred percent we can confidently say that people have mastered this place in the 4th century; the urban community appeared with the construction of the first temple in the 7th century; the city fell under the rule of the Toltecs in the 10th century.

In the following centuries, Chichen Itza reached the pinnacle of prosperity and became the most powerful city in the Yucatan Peninsula. Most of the grandiose structures were built during this period.

At the end of the 12th century, the city lost political power, gradually began to decline and was abandoned. The inhabitants of Chichen Itza left behind an impressive architectural and scientific heritage, but left no known record of why they left their homes. The built monuments began to gradually collapse, overgrown with jungle, but archaeologists reopened them to the world in the 1920s. The ancient structures were cleaned and reconstructed, and the archaeological complex began to attract tourists.

Chichen Itza consists of two parts: the central (new) zone and the southern (old) zone. The most important structures are located in the new zone.

El Castillo

When the Toltecs came to Chichen Itza, they combined their knowledge of cosmology with the Maya, resulting in the pyramid of El Castillo (also called the Pyramid of Kukulkan). Dedicated to Kukulkan, god of wind and rain in the form of a human-headed feathered serpent, El Castillo is one of the most famous and visited pre-Columbian structures in modern Mexico. Built a thousand years ago with the simplest of tools, El Castillo is considered the most important symbol of Chichen Itza. In 2007, the monument was included in the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

The architecture of El Castillo is filled with symbolism. Many secrets of the Mayan astronomical calendar become clear when you delve into the essence of the architecture of the "Temple of Time". The four staircases leading to the central platform have 91 steps each, for a total of 364, which corresponds to the number of days in a year. The platform at the top of the temple combines 4 stairs together, resulting in the number 365, which corresponds to the number of days in a leap year. There are 18 terraces on each side of the pyramid (9 on each side of the steps), which is equal to the number of months in the Mayan solar calendar.

The Mayan calendar consisted of two parallel cycles: a civil 365-day xiupoually and a ritual 260-day tonalpoualli. Chiupoualli and tonalpoually coincided every 52 years.

There are 52 stone reliefs on each of the four sides of the El Castillo pyramid. They represent the coincidence of these two cycles every 52 years.

The El Castillo pyramid attracts especially many visitors on the days of the autumn and spring equinoxes. During sunset, the shadow from the corner of the stepped terraces of the pyramid falls on the balustrade of the steps in the north side (see photo). It seems that the Feathered Serpent is slowly descending to the ground. The illusion is almost as well visible a week before and after the spring and autumn equinoxes.
The Maya often built new pyramid temples on top of previous ones. After several unsuccessful attempts, archaeologists managed to find a tunnel leading to the premises of an earlier temple. Here they found a figure of Chak-Mool and a throne in the form of a jaguar.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH), which operates the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, banned climbing El Castillo in 2006. At the same time, public access to the inner hall was closed for more ancient temple. Visitors are still allowed to walk around the monument, but climbing up or going inside is prohibited.

Main ball court

Chichen Itza has nine ball courts. The largest of them, Juego de Pelota (pictured), is located northwest of El Castillo. This is the largest and best preserved ball court among all similar fields in Mesoamerica (length 168 m, width 70 m). During the game, the players tried to throw a heavy rubber ball into a stone hoop set high in the wall. The acoustics of the ball court are so good that a conversation from one side can be clearly heard at the opposite end.

The games were colorful spectacles, and participation in them ended with a sacrifice for some of its participants. A curious detail: the researchers are not sure if the players of the losing team were sacrificed. On the wall of the ball court there is an image of a decapitated player on his knees, blood dripping from his neck and turning into snakes, another player holding his head in his hands. Other images on the walls show the equipment of the players.

To the right of the ball court is Tzompantli (Temple of the Skulls). The name comes from images of a row of skulls carved on a stone platform. When the victim was beheaded, the head was put on a pole and put in a row one after the other.

Temple of the Warriors

East of El Castillo is another famous building Chichen Itza: Templo de los Guerreros (Temple of the Warriors). The temple consists of four platforms, surrounded on three sides by round and square columns. The square columns are carved in the shape of Toltec warriors, hence the name Temple of the Warriors. During the recent restoration, some of the columns were restored and put in their original place. At the top of the Temple of the Warriors, there is a sculpture of Chaak-Mool in the form of a reclining man, the significance of this figure is unknown to researchers.

El Caracol (Observatory)

The observatory is another famous landmark of Chichen Itza. The Spanish word El Caracol means "spiral staircase" (there is a spiral staircase inside). The round vault of El-Karakol was built and rebuilt several times during the entire period of the Observatory's operation. Through holes in the walls of the tower, Mayan astronomers observed the movements of Venus, the Sun, the Moon and other celestial bodies, calculated the spring and autumn days of the equinox, the day of the summer solstice. Maya astronomical skills helped to predict even solar eclipses.

sacred cenote

The Yucatan Peninsula is a limestone plain without rivers and streams. The only source fresh water cenotes (karst funnels or wells) served, in which groundwater came to the surface. Cenotes are scattered throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, but the Sacred Cenote of Chichen Itza (Cenote Sagrado) was the most important to the Maya. It is located at a distance of 5-7 minutes walk from El Castillo.
The sacred cenote was used for ceremonial purposes: offerings were thrown here and human sacrifices were made. It was believed that the god of lightning, water and rain Chuck lives at the bottom of the Sacred Cenote, in order to pacify him, a person was deprived of his life.
Harvard University professor and American consul in Merida (Merida is the administrative center of Yucatán) Herbert Thompson explored the Sacred Cenote from 1904 to 1910 and recovered numerous objects from gold, jade, ceramics, obsidian, rubber, as well as the remains of human bodies. Most of the discovered treasures ended up in the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology (a museum at Harvard University). None of the objects discovered were made from materials mined in the Yucatan, that is, the Maya traveled to Chichen Itza from other places in Central America for worship and sacrifice.

Osario

Osario means "cemetery" in Spanish. Like El Castillo, this is a step pyramid with a temple on top, but only on a smaller scale. Like its larger neighbor, it has four faces with stairs on each side. But unlike El Castillo, in the center there is a hole in the pyramid, leading to a cave 12 meters deep below ground level. Herbert Thompson excavated this cave at the end of the 19th century, found several skeletons and artifacts, and named it the Tomb of the High Priest (Tumba del Gran Sacerdote). Since then it has had two names.

Interesting places near Chichen Itza

Cenote Ik Kil

Cenote Ik Kil is located less than 3 km from Chichen Itza. The cenote looks unusually spectacular, tropical vegetation and tree roots stretch from above to the very surface of the water. Tours to Chichen Itza often include a visit to Ik Kil. These tours are the main source of income for the Ik Kil Archaeological Park. A staircase for descending to the bathing platform is carved into the karst rock. The cenote is open for swimming from 08:00 am to 18:00 pm every day. It is best to swim before 11:30, before the influx of tourists. It offers tourists a cottage, a restaurant, a gift shop, changing rooms.

In 2010 and 2011, Ik Kil hosted the next round of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, a series of acrobatic diving competitions that have gained wide popularity in the world due to the spectacular diving sites and the skill of the participants.

Balancancha cave

Balankanché Cave is located 5.5 km from Chichen Itza on the way to Cancun. The whole tour takes about half an hour. In the middle of the cave flows a small underground river, but its main attraction is the column in the center, resembling a large tree. Outside you can wander around botanical garden and look at exotic plants for us.

Chichen Itza - useful information

The territory of the archaeological complex is oversaturated with small commerce, many sellers attract the attention of visitors with the words "only 1 dollar" or "only 1 peso". Note that this is not the cost of the items they sell. As soon as you want to buy something for "only 1 dollar", you will be popularly explained that the discount is 1 dollar or 1 peso and will start haggling further. Feel free to leave, they will follow you and offer you a bargain. This is Mexico, this is the order of the day here.

The inclusion of Chichen Itza among the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007 caused a surge of interest and now the archaeological complex is literally flooded with tourists. To better appreciate the magic of the ancient city, you need to arrive at the time of opening at 8 am. Then you will have about 3 hours of time before the start of the massive influx of tourists from Cancun.

Especially many tourists visit Chichen Itza on the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes in order to see the shadow of the "living snake" on the pyramid of El Castillo in the afternoon. This illusion is almost as well visible a week before and after the spring and autumn equinoxes, but there are noticeably fewer tourists.

Carry cash pesos with you, as changing the currency here is quite problematic, especially on weekends.

Show of light and sound. Having visited the ruins during the day, you can return back and visit the Night Light and Sound Show with the same tickets. The show lasts about an hour and is accompanied by a story about the history of the ancient city. The story is in Spanish, but for an additional fee, you can listen to the translation using headphones. Another option is to arrive at the complex in the afternoon, see the Light and Sound Show, and visit the ruins the next day - visiting the archaeological complex on the first evening gives a discount on the next day, so the price of admission will be almost the same.

Most tourists visit Chichen Itza from Cancun, the popular Mexican resort (2.5 hours drive), and Merida, the capital of Yucatan (1.5 hours drive). It is advisable to avoid a one-day visit to Chichen Itza and plan to spend one night here in a nearby hotel. If you stay overnight, you will have the opportunity to watch the Sound and Light Show in the evening, visit the archaeological complex in the morning, when it is still not so hot and there are practically no tourists. Chichen Itza is a huge archaeological complex. If you take a day trip from Cancun, the allotted time will obviously not be enough to truly appreciate this place.

At the entrance to the territory of the archaeological complex there is a museum, a restaurant, a bookstore, English-speaking and Spanish-speaking guides are at the service of tourists.

Video about Chichen Itza