Travelers Guide to Chichen Itza Yucatán

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CHICHEN ITZA THE CITY 

OF THE WATER SORCERERS

Chichen Itza was the site of pilgrimages for centuries before the Spanish conquest, and it was one of the largest cities of the Maya area. Its rulers controlled the routes of commerce and exercised political and  military dominion over the peninsula. 

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This archeological zone receives more than a million tourists a year attracted by its historic importance and architectural grandeur. It can be reached from Merida or Cancun in 90 minutes in a comfortable trip by highway. It's also possible to arrive by air, using a small  airport located at the outskirts of the site.

Its name can be translated as “mouth of the well” and there are those who call it “the city of the water sorcerers.” It reached its greatest urban and cultural development from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries.

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The Chichen  site covers 15 square kilometers and its constructions reveal, with balanced proportions, a variety  of styles corresponding to the diverse stages of its evolution.

 The Castillo (Castle) is outstanding, with its superimposed structures, dedicated to the  cult of Kulkulkan, serpentgod or mythical heroe who came from central Mexico. On one of its four facades, its stairway ends in serpents heads. Each stairway has 91 steps, which added to those of the upper temple´s entrance, make 365, the same number as the days of the year.

In the interior is a famous polychrome Chacmool and a jaguar throne painted red with inlays of jade and coch. On this pyramid the phenomena of  light and shade occurs during the equinoxes of March and September, displaying a succession of triangles simulating a serpent descending the stairways.

The Juego de Pelota is the largest in Mesoamerica  with 168 meters in length. It is one of 13 within the ancient city and was a sacred field for religious sport engagements. 

The Templo de los Guerreros (Temple of the Warriors) owes its name to numerous armed personages sculpted in stone forming part of the Mil Columnas (Thousand Columns), columns that served to support a roof that no longer exists.

The Caracol (Conch) or Observatorio (Observatory) is one of the few circular buildings built by the Mayas. An interior spiral stairway leading to the lookout gives the building its names. It is certain that it served to make astronomical observations through  openings and windows in the upper part of the tower.

The Cenote Sagrado (Sacred Well) is a well some 60 meters in diameter and 20 meters deep and was used for religious and ceremonial purposes. The Maya considered the cenote´s waters to be the abode of the rain gods to which they dedicated sacrifices and offerings. This explains the power of Chichen as a pilgrimage center. Explorations have brought up objects of copper and gold, jade collars, sculpted stones, clay vessels, arrowheads and human remains.

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Chichen Itza is a tourist center of first order with the highest category of hotels, restaurants and related services. A light and sound show is presented nightly.

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