Attractions
Beat the crowds at Chichén Itzá
Chichén Itzá is a complex of Mayan ruins on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. A massive step pyramid, known as El Castillo or Temple of Kukulcan, dominates the ancient city, which thrived from around 600 A.D. to the 1200s. Graphic stone carvings survive at structures like the ball court, Temple of the Warriors and the Wall of the Skulls. Nightly sound-and-light shows illuminate the buildings' sophisticated geometry.
more
Beat the crowds at Chichén Itzá
MEXICO // In the world of over-trammelled tourist sites, Chichén Itzá falls into the 'busy, but worth it' category. Mexico's greatest Mayan ruins hail from the post-classic period of Mesomerican history and juxtapose grandiose pyramids with more mysterious astronomical phenomena, such as the ancient on-site observatory known as 'El Caracol'. Since being inscribed as one of the seven 'new' wonders of the world in 2001, tourism at Chichén has increased significantly, with busloads of visitors invading the site daily. But, arrive early in the day and blot out the crowds, and you'll quickly start to wrestle with that rising thrill of discovery. Chichén's muscular stone temples, great ball-court and broad, chunky platforms are the Gothic cathedrals of the Mayan lowlands - built to last.