Chichen Itza

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Better known as Chichen Itza it may be, but the translation has a certain ring to it. As the name suggests, the ancient Mayan site is built around a revered body of water; the Sacred Cenote. This area of south-eastern Mexico, the Yucatan peninsula, has an unusual relationship with the wet stuff; there is no fresh surface water anywhere across the land mass. Instead, it runs underground; a vast subterranean network linking up a series of pools ...
...that around which Chichen Itza was constructed.


The classic image of Chichen Itza (voted one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" in 2007), however, is El Castillo, a great pyramid close to the entrance of the site. A striking structure aesthetically, it almost hides a number of secrets not immediately apparent - tally the steps (ninety-one on each of the four faces, plus the one on top) to get the number of days ... more

"At the mouth of the well of the Water Magicians"

Better known as Chichen Itza it may be, but the translation has a certain ring to it. As the name suggests, the ancient Mayan site is built around a revered body of water; the Sacred Cenote. This area of south-eastern Mexico, the Yucatan peninsula, has an unusual relationship with the wet stuff; there is no fresh surface water anywhere across the land mass. Instead, it runs underground; a vast subterranean network linking up a series of pools hidden away in caves and sinkholes - Cenotes, such as that around which Chichen Itza was constructed.

The classic image of Chichen Itza (voted one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" in 2007), however, is El Castillo, a great pyramid close to the entrance of the site. A striking structure aesthetically, it almost hides a number of secrets not immediately apparent - tally the steps (ninety-one on each of the four faces, plus the one on top) to get the number of days in the year; visit the pyramid at sunrise or sunset on either the Spring or Autumn equinox to see how the remains of the sun slither down the north face of El Castillo to join up with the carved serpent's head at the foot of the steps, creating for a moment a creature of light. There is also a second pyramid built inside the one you can see, accessed via a narrow doorway, at the top of which sits an ornately carved throne taking the form of a Jaguar. Sadly, INAH, the body which maintains the site, closed down climbing of both the inner and outer pyramid by tourists in 2006. Views from the top of El Castillo were good, but not unmissable - more of a shame is the lack of access to the inner sanctum; an experience that allowed you to get something of a behind-the-scenes view of Chichen Itza. Still, the site is a very large one, and there's no shortage of other nooks and crannies to explore.

Exploration of Chichen Itza is very easy; the site, in a large jungle clearing, is flat and well-maintained, and buses take tourists right up to the gate, making access easy for visitors of all ages. Pleasingly, though, a good balance has been struck - the ruins have been well enough looked-after to make visits and tours easy, but the powers-that-be have resisted the urge to meddle too greatly with the site, and the vast majority of it is free of overt signs of modern interference. For the most part, you can explore at your leisure, and enjoy a refreshing level of freedom.

Visitors come from all over Mexico, perhaps most of them ferried in from Cancun and its busy international airport, some two or three hours away to the east. Merida is the nearest big city, around an hour and a half north-west of Chichen Itza. There's also accommodation at and around the site itself for those who want to miss the mid-morning rush as the tour buses arrive.

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A Walking Tour: Going Clockwise
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El Castillo looms in the centre of the clearing the entrance leads into, and makes a logical place to explore first. Perhaps a good way of getting one's bearings and ensuring you see the key parts of the ruins is to imagine Chichen Itza as a clock face, with the pyramid in the centre. If the entrance is behind you at six o'clock, head for seven/eight o'clock and walk through the Ball Court (Juego de Pelota). A flat, grassed area perhaps half the size of a football pitch with two high, slightly curved walls along either side, this served as the arena in which the Mesoamerican Ball Game took place. The exact rules are not known, but the basic goal was to force a ball through the stone rings built into the tops of the walls, which remain intact today - ritual sacrifice was thought to often be a part of the game, although it was also likely played simply for entertainment.

Walking towards the nine o'clock end of the site, you'll come across a path leading to the Sacred Cenote, into which the inhabitants of Chichen Itza would throw offerings in times of drought, attempting to summon rain. Initially the Cenote was thought to receive only valuable items such as gold, precious stones and wooden objects, but the discovery of human remains in the waters suggested a sacrificial purpose.

Further towards twelve, the Temple of the Warriors and the Thousand Columns are well-preserved ruins which give an impression of the great structure which once stood here. The Temple of the Warriors (Templo de los Guerreros) is out of bounds to visitors, but one can see the Chac-Mool (a finely carved stone reclining figure) atop the stairway. For closer exploration, the Group of the Thousand Columns allows freer, extensive wandering - some of the smaller, enclosed areas emerging from the surrounding jungle are especially interesting, firing the imagination.

The remaining half of the "clock" features ruins typically less well-preserved than the newer structures. Perhaps the most impressive of these is El Caracol (literally, "the Snail", but often referred to as the Observatory, its presumed purpose), a slightly worse-for-wear but nonetheless imposing building.

Chichen Itza is a site with plenty of inherent beauty and spectacle, and can be explored independently, but such is the wealth of history and blend of fact and speculation behind the ruins, this is one excursion to which a guide can really make a difference (and I say this as someone with a substantial dislike of guided tours). Perhaps tag along with a tour for the first few sites of interest then wander off to explore at your leisure - three hours of listening to a guide, however good they are, can be a rather wilting experience in the hot sun (another reason to arrive early).

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A body such as INAH is always faced with a difficult task in trying to appease two equally persuasive parties; those who would regard preservation and further excavation of the site as paramount being one of the influential voices, those catering for the needs of the tourist and the money they bring the other. On the whole, a good job is done of finding an adequate middle-ground at Chichen Itza. It's a shame that El Castillo is effectively now a look-don't-touch piece, but the change was doubtless made for good reason. The tourist generally has plenty of freedom around the site, and isn't herded around in the controlled manner of a few other sites. It's testament to the sensitive management of Chichen Itza that it is at once extremely accessible and relatively untainted. A beautiful site with a fascinating, often mysterious history and a wealth of secrets, Chichen Itza deserves its place as a wonder of the world, and is one of Latin America's premier attractions.  

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