Chichen Itza

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439 Reviews | Add review

Hours: Open daily 8am - 5pm
Admission: Adults: 95 pesos, Children (12yrs and under): Free

ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience, Must-Do Experience, UNESCO Heritage Site, Monument - Historical

9:25 PM Wednesday, May 22
Broken clouds. Extremely hot.
7 day forecast

One of the Seven Wonders of the World, Chichen Itza - meaning "At the mouth of the well of the Itza" - is Mexico's most visited archeological site, a magnificent display of Mayan culture and the ceremonial center of the Yucatán. The highlight of Chichen Itza is the Kukulkan Pyramid, known as "El Castillo", 24 meters (79 feet) high of step pyramid construction. Mesoamerican cultures occasionally built larger pyramids on top of smaller ones and this is the case for El Castillo where an excavation discovered a temple with an elaborate jaguar throne.

At sunrise and sunset on the Spring and Fall equinoxes the corner of the pyramid casts a shadow of Kukulkan, a feathered serpent god, creating the illusion of a snake slithering down the North side with the sun's movement. The Cenote Sagrado is also an impressive natural site at Chichen Itza, featuring a sinkhole gateway into an underground body of water 60 meters (197 feet) in diameter. Visitors to Chichen Itza get a good feel for ancient Mayan culture through these impressive structures.

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All Chichen Itza Reviews

Review by STEFANIE S, May 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun

What a nice trip! Picked up on time at Riviera Maya and taken to office to catch bus with others! Slight wait but when we were on the road, had to wait for possible "late family" on the roadside, so we lost 15 minutes at the cenote/Keyote, so unable to have time to take a swim. What a beautiful natural swimming hole. A lot of history on the rituals of the region. The drive to the Yucatan was wonderful, a very knowledgeable guide talked the entire route of the Mayan history and culture.Stopped at a Mayan village to shop and for lunch with some local dancers as entertainers. We were lucky to find a local Mayan woodworker on items at the time, so we bought a beautiful piece by the artist himself! Lunch was good and the entertainment fun. Plenty of local vendors to choose from. Off to the Chichen Itza and the holy ground. Our guide was very educated and knowledgeable of the history. Location was wonderful and historical and crowded. Plenty of vendors to choice from to bargain with from woodworking to pottery to carvings to silver and clothing and blankets. Many locals selling their wares. The ride home was quiet and peaceful and the tour service arranged for a shuttle to meet us enroute to cut our return back to Cancun and make it easier for us as the day was a 12 hour day for us. It was a worthy excursion and professionally done. We would highly recommend it.

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Review by Kevin F, May 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun

This was an excellent day trip from Cancun! The first stop was an amazing underground well where the locals put on a show. The lunch and show at the restaurant were another pleasant surprize. I would have liked a little more time at Chichen Itza or an opportunity to get off the bus in Valladolid, and less time at the "Mayan village" which was just a market. The guide, Rueben, was excellent.

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Review by Elizabeth H, April 2013
Doing what: Chichen Itza Day Trip from Cancun

Great trip with informative tour leaders who gave smooth commentary in Spanish and English. Good variety and experiences and time at Mayan ruins to explore.
Interesting cenote swimming time. Hotel pick up and drop off good.

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Practical Info

Chichen Itza is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, made up of many stone buildings in various states of preservation, but all sites are connected by a network of roads, called sacbeob. The three most well-known of these monument complexes are El Castillo, Temple of Warriors and the Great Ball Court. While some groups like the Ossario group and Central group are open to everyone, Chichen Viejo (Old Chichen) is only open to archeologists.

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