Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is the most famous and impressive of the ancient Maya cities, a UNESCO site and one of the modern seven wonders of the world. It is dominated by El Castillo, the great step-pyramid of Kukulcan, so precisely built that at the spring and autumn equinox the afternoon sun casts a shadow of a serpent slithering down its stairway. Around it spread a ball court, temples and an observatory of a brilliant civilisation.

History

The city was founded by the local Maya of northern Yucatán, and the Itza, a Maya group of debated origin whose name the locals took to mean those who speak our language brokenly, began arriving around 800; its core took shape between 750 and 900, and in the 10th century it rose to be a regional capital controlling the area from central Yucatán to the north coast, its earliest hieroglyphic date equivalent to 832 and its last, in the Osario temple, to 998. As it rose, the allied cities of Yaxuna and Coba declined, perhaps with Chichen Itza's help. Colonial Maya sources say Hunac Ceel, ruler of Mayapan, conquered it in the 13th century, but archaeology shows it had declined as a regional centre by 1100, before Mayapan's rise. Francisco de Montejo the Younger was sent to conquer the interior of Yucatán in late 1532, John Lloyd Stephens's book of 1843, illustrated by Frederick Catherwood, brought the site into popular imagination, and in 2007 El Castillo was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World (Wikipedia, Chichen Itza).

What to look for

• El Castillo - the great step-pyramid of Kukulcan.
• The equinox serpent - the shadow-serpent that descends the stairs at the equinox.
• The Great Ball Court - the largest ancient ball court in the Americas.
• The observatory and temples - the round observatory and temple of warriors.

When to go

November to April for cooler, drier weather, as the Yucatan is hot and humid; go at opening to beat the heat and the tour buses from the coast. The equinoxes draw huge crowds for the serpent shadow.

Things to know

You can no longer climb the pyramid, and the site is very busy and lined with persistent souvenir vendors, which surprises some. It is hot and shadeless, so go early with water. The equinox spectacle is mobbed. Nearby Valladolid or a cenote pairs well to round out the day.

Nearby

The colonial town of Valladolid and swimmable cenotes are close; Merida and the Riviera Maya are within reach.

Key facts