Welcome to a small tour of one of the most famous Mayan archaeological sites in Mexico: Chichén Itzá. Many things are a number bigger at this site than elsewhere: The Kukulcán pyramid is impressively voluminous, the whole archaeological zone stretches with several tributaries over several kilometers of footpaths, and the prices are also exceptionally generous!

Pyramid of the Kukulcán

The large, stepped pyramid has been completely uncovered and restored. Its appearance is accordingly impressive. With an edge length of about 55m and a height of 30m it is a remarkably voluminous appearance. As is often the case with Maya buildings, a predecessor pyramid from an earlier era is hidden under the pyramid that is visible today. For us tourists, unfortunately, neither the walk inside to the former pyramid nor to the top at a height of 30m is possible. Correspondingly, we are content with the all-round view from the surrounding area.
We can just imagine how mystical the sight of such a building light at night and by torchlight must have been, especially in the passed days. The pyramid is located in the center of today’s visit area and so we make a small star march into individual side arms of the area to marvel at other historical buildings. On our way back we always pass the center with the great pyramid of Kukulcán.
Kukulcán, by the way, was the serpent god or feathered serpent, as it often appears today in reconstructed writings and murals. This deity is also a historical link between the various prehistoric advanced civilizations in the South and Central American region, such as the Aztecs and Toltecs to the Mayas. However, the cultures did not rule in parallel, but in different eras one after the other, and the link has probably been passed down and reinterpreted from one advanced civilization to the next through ancestral customs.

More restored buildings in Chichén Itzá

On our star path through Chichén Itzá, we visit next the Warrior Temple with many inscriptions, drawings and stone reliefs in the building blocks of the temple. Of course, we cannot decipher all the individual images themselves and rely again and again on the information boards along the way to provide us with a brief version of the use and purpose of the buildings at that time. This building probably served to honor and assemble many high-ranking warriors. In addition, there are the 1000 adjacent columns all of which are also associated with the warriors.

The ball court at Chichén Itzá is particularly large and somewhat different from previous ball courts. It is bordered with vertical walls in contrast to the sloping walls of the previous ball courts. In addition, there are stone rings in the middle of the walls on both sides which probably functioned as a kind of gate to pass the ball through.

We looked at the other temples extensively but did not study them as closely. Basically, in Chichén Itzá all excavated buildings are very richly decorated and provided with wall drawings. In addition, some special shapes can be seen, for example animal heads or even animal heads which are effectively carved out of stone. This makes the whole visit pleasant and impressive. There is much to see and many impressions to absorb during our visit. Again, the many stand operators for souvenirs are not innocent of this. The many stalls offer all kinds of souvenirs made of stone and wood in a variety of colors. So attractive that this time we ourselves walk out of the archaeological zone with a souvenir of the Mayan ruins.

Water was already important at that time

The whole former city of Chichén Itzá was partly built over and in the immediate vicinity of cenotes. A cenote is a water hole, usually filled with fresh water and partly fed by groundwater, but also rainwater. Thus, it is not surprising that the city of that time had such a cenote right on its current outskirts, but earlier in the middle of the city, in order to provide the Maya with enough drinking water. All of Yucatán is dotted with cenotes. This is due to the rock composition, as the soft limestone inclusions were gradually eroded by water, leaving the surrounding harder rock intact. Thus, these cenotes can be found all over the Yucatán Peninsula.

Entrance fees beyond our imagination

By now we have become accustomed to the fact that the archaeological zones in Mexico cost 90 pesos per person entrance fee to finance further excavations and preservation. This price is also nationally regulated and corresponds to the top importance class of the archaeological site. In Chichén Itzá this is also the case, but in addition to this price we pay another 500 pesos per person entrance fee at a separate ticket office. How, where, what? We don’t really understand it until today. Converted, the price is not so high that we skip the visit because of it. But how the high additional price comes about is probably a mystery that even the Mexicans can only describe with the help of nice paraphrases, but not explain.

Certainly, this has something to do with the fact that Chichén Itzá is one of the most visited Mayan sites in Mexico, since it is easily accessible as a day trip from the popular beach resorts of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum. Accordingly, there are many tourists here, many more than we have seen at any of the sites we have visited before, including Teotihuacán! However, due to the spaciousness of the area, the mass is fortunately distributed again.

At the same time as the high entrance fee and the many tourists, we have rarely found such a well-organized and tidy facility. Seen in this way, it all makes more sense again. Chichén Itzá remains an impressive experience to catch a whiff of Mayan culture. We gladly add this memory to our now broad portfolio of step pyramids!