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Gadling goes to Chichen Itza (and so does everyone else)
Located in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, Chichen Itza is one of Mexico's most popular Mayan ruins, and for good reason. Only three hours by bus from Cancún, the thousand-year-old ruins transport you back to an age of hierogloyphics, massive temple-pyramids, and human sacrifices.
Are there tourists? Oh yeah, in spades. Tell someone traveling around Mexico that you've just been to Chichen Itza, and within ten seconds some variation of the word "touristy" will escape their lips. Sure, it can be a little crowded, but the tourists come for good reason-- to see the mind-boggling, towering remains of this ancient civilization.
First populated by the Mayans around the year 500, Chichen Itza became an important political and cultural center as early as 800 before the civilization began to decline. In the 900s, the city was resettled and appears to have been invaded by Toltecs from the northern town of Tula, apparent from the fusion of Mayan and Toltec architectural styles. The city was abandoned in the early 1200s.
Gallery: Gadling goes to Chichen Itza (and so does everyone else)
Another can't-miss site in the park is the Gran Juego de Pelotas (Grand Ballcourt), where tour guides can be heard clapping throughout the day to demonstrate to their groups the court's wonderful acoustics. (Go on, try it!) The Grupo de las Mil Columnas (Group of the Thousand Columns) is just what it sounds like-- an impressive arrangement of, well, a thousand ten-foot-high columns. For more on the individual buildings at Chichen Itza, check out the accompanying slideshow.
If you go: From Cancún, buses leave for Chichen Itza every hour from 5 am to 5 pm. Expect to pay about US$10 if traveling first-class, slightly less otherwise. Buses typically stop at the park's western entrance, though a few will drop you off in the nearby town of Piste. Ask before you get on. Outside of Cancún, almost any town in the Yucatan will have multiple buses going to (or through) Chichen Itza every day. The park gets very crowded later in the day, so try to go as early as possible.
Tickets for the ruins, purchased right at the entrance to the park, cost about US$9.
Where to stay: Day-trips to Chichen Itza are possible from tour agencies in almost any decent-sized town in the Yucatan, although the three-hour (at least) bus ride each way makes for a very long day.
A better option is to spend the night in Valladolid, a small colonial town about 25 miles east of the ruins. Places to stay are cheap and abundant and reservations aren't required. If you're looking for a more cosmopolitan city, head to lovely Mérida about 90 minutes to the northwest of the ruins. Bus tickets are sold inside the Chichen Itza visitors' center.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Mexico
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Shannon Jan 14th 2009 2:33PM
My boyfriend and I went to the Yucatan Peninsula and stayed in Mérida for a month a couple of years ago. We went to Chichén Itzá and a slew of other ruins. My favorite was Uxmal. The excavation wasn't too far behind that of Chichén Itzá but you could climb on more of the ruins, which was lots of fun.
Tobias Feb 23rd 2009 5:02PM
I agree totally with you about the mayans was a stunning civilization of astrologers, mathematicians and other amazing skills to that era. You must be there to feel the energy and the misticism that sourround Chichen Itza
John U Lord Apr 13th 2010 4:11PM
We visited Chichen Itza last December and allowed ourselves to be talked into a day trip to Ek Balam and Ria Lagartos.
I give an enthusiastic two thumbs up for Ek Balam which is a beautiful Late Classic site and, on the day of our visit, almost completely deserted. The climb up the pyramid is completely worth it. At the top there are amazing sculptures of human figures, very graceful and life-like, unlike many of the very stylized figures you see on stelae, pots, etc.
The trip to Ria Lagartos was sadly a bust. It was a very long way, very hot and the hordes of flamingos we went to see in their natural habitat had decamped for a remote area of industrial-looking salt flats. If you're going to make the trip, probably better to plan to spend the night somewhere nearby. We were racing against the night on the way home...not something you ever want to do in Mexico!