Attractions in Chichen Itza, Mexico: What to do and where to go

Temple of Kukulcan

The Temple of Kukulcan, also known as 'El Castillo', is the most representative structure of the Maya, on the site. It was built between 300 and 450 A.D.

The Castle has 7 tiers and a staircase on each of its 4 sides, each with 91 steps equaling a total of 364 and including the chamber platform makes 365 for every day of the year. The Temple of Kukulcan was built with an astronomical precision that still bewilders modern day science.

A doorway at the base of the north stairway leads to a tunnel, from where one can climb the steps of the earlier version of El Castillo inside the current one, up to the room on the top where you can see the throne for the Lord of Chichen Itza, a jaguar carved on stone and painted red with jade spots, an animal considered sacred by the Maya and which is facing forward probably to keep the king's retinue at a distance, while he was presiding over public meetings or ceremonies.

Kukulcan's Descent

Twice a year, on March 21st and September 22nd respectively, on the spring and fall equinoxes, when the day and night last exactly 12 hours each, you can witness a spectacular shadow effect that resembles a serpent slithering down to the bottom of the staircase.

This pyramid was built for astronomical purposes and during the vernal equinox and the autumnal equinox, at about 3 P.M. sunlight bathes the western balustrade of the pyramid's main stairway. This causes seven isosceles triangles to form which imitate the body of a serpent 37 yards long creeping downwards until it joins the huge serpent's head carved in stone at the bottom of the stairway.

Summer Solstice

Solstices are natural phenomena that the Maya understood. The summer solstice (June 21st) is the longest day of the year and at noon the sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky, whereas the winter solstice (December 22nd) is the shortest day of the year and the sun is at its southernmost point in the year.

The Temple of Kukulcan signals the precise moment of the summer solstice, when the sun shines on the north and east sides of the building, it casts a shadow over??  the south and west sides. From the sky, it would look as if the pyramid were diagonally split into two parts.

The Ball Game Court

The length of the playing field of the Chichen Itza Ball Court is 545 ft with two 26-foot high walls running alongside which were probably used as the bleachers for spectators. The eastern side supports the Temple of the Jaguars and the opposite side supports the Temple of the Tigers, which defines the limits of the court and probably served as a box for the lord and high ranking officials and priests to watch the game.

The two walls of the court are vertical and hold a target ring or hoop positioned 20 feet above the ground. The rings are decorated using the bas-relief technique depicting two entwined snakes wrestling each other. The game itself involved two teams, each able to hit the rubber ball only with elbows, wrists or hips, and the object was to knock the ball through one of the stone hoops on the walls of the court.

Another fascinating, though seldom discussed mystery of Chichen Itza concerns the strange acoustic anomalies observed at the Great Ball Court and the Temple of Kukulkan. Words softly whispered at one end of the court (measuring 545 feet long by 225 feet wide) are clearly audible all the way at the other end.

Observatory or Caracol

This fascinating round structure, on a square platform, is also nicknamed 'the snail', because of the stone spiral staircase inside. Although most of the observation chamber has collapsed, it was so peculiarly built and positioned, that archaeologists surmise it was used for astronomical purposes.

The Caracol was probably an observatory, with its doors aligned to view the vernal equinox and the Moon's greatest northern and southern declinations as well as other astronomical events. The Maya tracked these events and it enabled them to make incredibly precise calculations that guided their planting and harvesting seasons.

Sacred Cenote or Sinkhole

Cenote derives from the Mayan word dzonot, which means mouth of a well. Sinkholes are fresh water filled holes formed on limestone bedrock resembling a pot with vertical walls, they are fully or partially collapsed karst caves. One of the most impressive cenotes is the Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza with a mouth measuring 213 ft in diameter and 115 ft deep.

Chichen Itza was at one time not only the greatest and most powerful city in Yucatan, but it was a sacred city as well, to which people flocked from every part of the peninsula and also from foreign countries to make offerings of gold, incense, copper, precious stones even and human sacrifices. At the heart of Chichen Itza is the Sacred Cenote, dedicated to the Chac God, the Maya God of rain and lightening, and this cenote was central to their religious practices. Research carried out throughout the years to determine if there were human sacrifices in the cenote, has revealed that the remains found at the bottom of the cenote were largely children, whom might have fallen in accidentally. However, human remains found between 1904 and 1907 show clear evidence of violence, which has led scholars to infer that those who had been thrown into the cenote had been used in religious rituals.

Chichen Itza has many other interesting structures such as the Venus Platform, The Nunnery, and the Group of a Thousand Columns. Come and explore this amazing magical site, which was once the most important ceremonial center in the Mayan world.