Chichén Itzá - To Visit or Not to Visit?

Chichén Itzá, is located in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, a couple hours to the east of Mérida.  It was one of the largest of the Mayan cities, and is the best known of all of Mexico's many archaeological sites. 

I first visited Chichén Itzá back in the 1980s with a teacher friend.  It was a wonderful experience.  There were few tourists, and we were able to climb and thoroughly explore the ruins. I returned in 2007, and, my, how the place has changed!  The site is now overrun with tourists... they arrive by the busload from Cancun.  It is estimated that 1.2 million visitors come to Chichén Itzá each year.  With the tourists have come the vendors.  They line the paths throughout the site.  Most of the "handicrafts" they sell is junk; I have even read that some of it is made in China.  There is no denying that the ruins are impressive, but gone is the atmosphere of majesty and mystery.  It feels more like a Mayan Disneyland.

Because of the huge surge in tourism, visitors can no longer climb any of the structures or enter any of the interior spaces.  This is understandable.  The footsteps of thousands of people every day would surely irreparably damage these buildings which have stood here for nearly 1000 years.  Unfortunately, some of the most interesting features of Chichén Itzá can now longer be seen, and the sense of exploration that I enjoyed on my first trip has vanished.

So, should a visitor to the Yucatán bother with Chichén Itzá?  As I said, the ruins are astounding.  If you go, don't go on a tour along with the other hordes of tourists.  Stay overnight at one of the hotels located just a few steps from the rear entrance.  Then get up early and begin your exploration as soon as the gates open.  That way you will be able to see much of the site before the armada of tour busses arrive, and the vendors set up their merchandise. 

In my travels to the Yucatán over the past few years, I have played tour guide to a number of friends, but I have taken none of them to Chichén Itzá.  Instead, I take them to the ruins of Uxmal, which are closer to Mérida and in many respects just as impressive as Chichén Itzá.  There are fewer visitors, absolutely no vendors within the archaeological site, and, with the exception of one of the pyramids, you are free to climb and explore at will.  I personally find Uxmal to be a much more satisfying experience.

Before I show you some pictures of Chichén Itzá,  the teacher in me needs to first give you a bit of historical background.  Chichén Itzá began its rise to prominence during the late Classic Period (around A.D. 800), and reached its peak during the early Post Classic Period (around A.D. 1000).  The old cities of the Classic Period had been abandoned, and Chichén Itzá represented a sort of "Renaissance" of Mayan culture.  But Chichén Itzá shows strong influences from outside the Mayan world.  Its architecture, art and religion have similarities with the Toltec civilization of central Mexico.  Archaeologists used to think that the Toltecs actually invaded the Yucatán.  Now the most widely held theory is that these influences came from trade relations with the Toltecs.  By 1250, Chichén Itzá had fallen into decline.

The following pictures are from my 2007 visit to the site.  Someday, I might dig out pictures from my first trip, and show you things that visitors are no longer permitted to see.

Upon entering the archaeological zone through the rear entrance, you come upon the Group of a Thousand Columns.  These columns would have originally supported a roof, and formed a large covered structure.

 

 

Next to it is the Temple of the Warriors.  This structure is a grander version of the main temple of the Toltec capital of Tula in central Mexico.

 

 

Unfortunately you can no longer climb the steps to the top of the temple to see some of its interesting features.  At the top are two pillars at the entrance which are in the form of serpents.  Just within is a statue of a "chac mool".  "Chac mool" was the messenger of the gods.  He is represented as a reclining figure holding a plate over his stomach.  The hearts of sacrificial victims would be placed upon the plate, and the messenger would supposedly deliver the essence of the sacrifice to the gods.  At the rear of the temple is a table where the human sacrifices were performed.

 

The most famous structure at Chichén Itzá is "El Castillo" (The Castle), also known as the Temple of Kukulkán.  The pyramid rises to a height of 98 feet.  Back in the days when you were allowed to climb it, it offered a spectacular view of the entire city.

 

 

(You can tell from the small number of people in these pictures that they were taken early in the morning before the tour busses arrived!)

 

At the bottom of the staircase of the pyramid are two carved serpents' heads representing the god Kukulcán.  Kukulcán, the Feather Serpent, was a deity brought from central Mexico, where he was known as Quetzalcoatl.

 

 

 

The pyramid was built in such a way, that on the equinoxes, the play of light and shadow along the balustrade creates the image of a serpent descending the staircase.

 

It was common in the Mesoamerican civilizations to build larger pyramids on top of existing pyramids.  Archaeologists excavated within the Temple of Kukulcán, and discovered the staircase of an earlier pyramid.  It leads to a temple chamber that contains a jaguar throne. Visitors used to be allowed to enter a claustrophobic tunnel, climb the old stairs, and see the jaguar throne.  This too is now closed to the public.

 

From the plaza in front of the pyramid there is a path which cuts through the scrub jungle to the Sacred Cenote.  "Cenotes" are sinkholes in the limestone crust of the Yucatán.  There are thousands of them throughout the peninsula.  They were used as wells, and also as places of sacrifice.

 

 

 









The Sacred Cenote of Chichén Itzá is 200 feet wide in diameter, and it is a drop of 90 feet to the water below.  Legend has it that beautiful virgins would be thrown into the well as sacrifices to the rain god.  Archaeologists have dredged the bottom of the "cenote".  They found thousands of objects... gold, jade, pottery, obsidian... that were thrown into the well as offerings.  They also found human skeletons... but they were of children and men.  So, it would appear that the legend of the sacrificial virgins was false.

Chichén Itzá also contains the largest and best preserved ball court in Mesoamerica.  All of the civilizations played a ball game which was more than a sport... it was a religious ceremony.

 

(As the day progresses the number of tourists increases)

We don't know the exact rules of the game, but it would seem that the players tried to hurl a hard rubber ball through the stone rings on the walls of the ball court (without using their hands or feet!!)

 

 

Some games concluded with a human sacrifice.  Carvings along the base of the ball court show a player who has been decapitated.  Blood spurts from his neck in the form of serpents.

  Another player holds the head of the unfortunate victim.

Another structure, unusual because of its round shape, is thought to have been an astronomical observatory.

(You are allow to climb the platform on which the observatory is built... the only climbing I did all day... but you cannot enter the observatory.)

 



A group of buildings known as the Nunnery Complex is older than many of the others, and shows a more typically Mayan style of architecture... similar to what you see at Uxmal.