The insects are quiet, only the birds are awake. A winding path lined with ancient stones leads through thick trees, towards a time-frozen slice of antiquity. The sun slowly rises above the forest and shines on one of the most iconic landscapes in the world - the Castillo Pyramid at Chichén Itzá.
These are the bones of one of the great Mayan cities of the prehispanic age. The site includes the El Castillo Pyramid, the endless columns of the Temple of a Thousand Warriors, the Great Ball Court, and a myriad of smaller structures, as well as two cenotes. Most of the structures were religious, though some were administrative and a few were residential. All of them once hummed with the life of tens of thousands of Mayans, replaced in modern days by an equal number of tourists.
 |
| The Temple of a Thousand Pillars |
The tour around the area, filled with archaeological information, was mesmerising. The first and foremost relic, the El Castillo Pyramid, was apparently a temple for the god Kukulkan, and is covered with hidden symbols representing the sacred animals of the Maya: Jaguar, Snake and Quetzal. The Jaguar represents the living world, the Snake the underworld and the dead, and the Quetzal the world of the afterlife and the Gods. One curious hidden symbol is the Quetzal clap - if you stand at the right distance from the pyramid and clap loudly, the echo sounds exactly like the cry of a Quetzal bird!
 |
| The sides of El Castillo are dizzyingly steep |
The Ball Court was once home to a strange combination of sport and religion. Unlike modern sport where the game becomes a 'religion', Mayan ball games were religion become sport. On a field the size of a football pitch, players battled to put a ball about the size of a grapefruit through a small stone ring set 5 metres above them on the long side of the pitch.
 |
| The Ball Court from the north end. The 'goal' rings are on the left and right on the high walls. Viewing was at either end and above the high walls. |
The game was supposed to be a dedication to the gods and outcomes were sometimes seen as prophetic. The rules are not well known, but in some cities you were allowed to maim and murder during the match in pursuit of victory, though it is unclear if this happen at Chichen Itza.
 |
| Close up of the goal ring |
Finally, there are the Cenotes. These are deep, water-filled sinkholes that appear naturally all over Yucatan, and since they are the only consistent water sources in the otherwise arid area they were very important to the Maya. One of Chichen Itza's cenotes was considered sacred and the priests of Chichen Itza would throw offerings into the water such as jade, gold, and human sacrifices!
 |
| Spooky Cenote full of bones |
In terms of occupation, Chichen Itza had its golden age between 750AD and 1250AD when it was a dominant regional power in the Mayan region, which like Ancient Greece, was a network of city states in constant states of trading and warring. After a mysterious social collapse in the 13th century, the area remained occupied but by a fraction of the former population, and the area fell into obscurity. Though the Conquistadores did find the site and even occupied it for a short time, it wasn't until the late 19th century that European explorers 'discovered' the site, which they bought from local farmers and gradually reclaimed from the jungle.
How to visit Chichen Itza
First of all, I would highly recommend visiting Chichen Itza from Valladolid instead of taking a tour from another location or catching the inter-city bus. It is much cheaper than a tour from another city, and you can do your own thing instead of being hustled through by a tour guide. Valladolid is also lovely and a recommended stop. For perspective, my expenses for the day totalled 302 pesos: 35 pesos for the collectivo there, 242 pesos for entry, and 25 for the return. That's just $15 US! For a tour from Cancun you can easily pay more than $50US.
 |
| The Wall of Skulls - pretty metal |
The best time to visit is right when it opens at 8am. Not only is it nice and cool, but there are very few other people around so you can have the park to yourself and take some good photos. By the time I left at about 12pm, it was roasting hot and choked with visitors, not to mention the very irritating souvenir sellers who blow on Jaguar growl-imitators
constantly to get your attention
. To get there for opening, there is a collectivo that leaves from close to ADO bus station at around 7am. Get there at 6:45am to guarantee a seat, as they leave when they fill the seats no matter the time.
 |
| Temple of the rain god - if you look at the corner on the left, you can just make out a mask with a protruding nose across the two walls! |
Finally, one slightly unusual piece of advice -
don't take a tour! Normally I am in favour of getting a guide for a site like this if I can afford it because I like hearing the insider history and giving back to the locals. At Machu Picchu I paid about $10 plus tip for a tour that was well worth the money to bring the ancient stones to life, as without a guide they lack context which makes it less fun.
However, at Chichen Itza it was very pricey to hire a guide and frankly, most of them didn't seem to know what they were talking about. Some guides I heard didn't even have basic knowledge of Mayan history, including one who claimed the Maya had ruled from Mexico to Ecuador when in fact they existed between Yucatan and Honduras. On top of that, many of them don't have very good English skills, which I found very strange given how many American tourists visit the site. To get the history, there are plenty of info boards around the site, and much more online. There are some things that you may need a guide to see such as some of the more discreet symbolism, but you can always have a sneaky eavesdrop if you see a tour group goggling at some of the stones.
 |
| El Caracol - an ancient observatory. Evidence from this site shows that the Mayans had a complex grasp of astronomy. It was also the only large round structure we saw at Chichen Itza |
All in all, this is a worthwhile visit if you do it right. It's pretty, the site is huge, and its all super interesting. And after all, who could miss a chance to tick off a World Wonder? For me, this is number 3 after Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China. I wonder which one will be next!
 |
| It got much busier than this later on! Look at the left side of El Castillo - that part has not been restored and has been left as it was found in the jungle |
Comments
Post a Comment