Exploring the Ancient Mayan Ruins of Chichén Itzá in Mexico
Chichén Itzá, Mexico (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/22, 1/50 s)
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I’m a sucker for ruins. Anything Aztec, Mayan, or Incan, sign me up. Perhaps one of the most popular, and well preserved ruins from the Mayan citilization has to be Chichén Itzá. This city reached prominence for the Mayans between 600-900 AD. Interestingly enough, the ruins possess a mixture of different architectural styles seen throughout Mexico. Scholars deem this observation to be an effect of cultural diffusion at the time. The ‘Chichen Itza’ means ‘At the mouth of the well of the Itza’ in Mayan.
I managed to see Chichén Itzá myself when I booked a week long beach vacation in Cancun. Once you are there, there are plenty of tour operators that will take you on day trips to Chichén Itzá as well as a variety of Cenotes and other places of importance.
As such, since it is such a touristy outing to visit the site, I still highly recommend it due to how well preserved the ruins are as well as the immense amount of history and sheer size that makes it such an impressive place.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/11, 1/100 s)
How to get to Chichén Itzá
One of the closest airports to Chichén Itzá has to be Cancún International Airport (Airport Code: CUN). It is a very accessible airport due to Cancun being such a popular tourist destination.
From there, you can drive about two hours Southwest to reach the ruins of Chichén Itzá. As mentioned before, I myself took a guided tour to Chichén Itzá so transportation was already covered with the price of my ticket.
If you want to go there without having a book a guided tour, arranging a private transfer to share amongst friends is a very popular option as well. The cost of this depends on which company you go with but the costs split amongst a group for the comfort that you get is often worth it.
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Here are some of the notable places to see at Chichen Itza:
Pyramid of Kukulcan
This is the iconic pyramid that you always see in the photos. It is a four sided pyramid and a quintessential example of Mayan architecture, built during the Mayapan. The pyramid features columns representing serpents with a large image of the god Chaac. It is forbidden to climb up the pyramid as those who do face fines and in some cases, a plethora of food and water thrown at them in shame.
There are 91 steps that go up each side of the pyramid, with one extra step per side leading into the temple at the top, which gives a total of 365 steps, one per day of the year. Effigies of the God Kukulcan are visualized as feathered serpent heads. There is also a cenote that is 8 meters under the pyramid itself, which to the Mayans, represented the center of the world. This was determined using Magnetic resonance techniques.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/22, 1/15 s)
The Ball Game
There was a game that was played at this site, simply called the Ball Game. This ritual was a sport of combat played on the Ball Game court. The court exhibited excellent acoustic effects as what was spoken at one end of the court, was heard at the other.
The Ball for the game was made from latex taken from rubber trees weighing between 3 and 5 kilograms. The size of the ball varies based on which depiction you see, some being small enough to fit in the hand, others the size of larger than a football.
The Rules of the Game can only be partially reconstructed from representations on stone monuments. When the ball was thrown into the court, it could only then be touched with a player’s hips or thighs. There is a ring that was elevated in the Ball game court, so presumably it was the goal of a team to use their body to get the ball through this ring.
Nonetheless, the amount of players and scoring scheme cannot be certain but it is surmised that the game was played 1 v 1, in pairs, or in teams.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/11, 1/100 s)
The Tzompantli
This monument is dedicated to the dead and found at many different Mayan sites, although this one is one of the oldest every found. The use of this during Mayan times were that those living in Chichen Itza would hang their enemies’ heads on long wooden beams, otherwise called ‘Skull Racks’. Another example of this type of rack is called the Hueyi Tzompantli, which was located in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital.
The Tzompantil of Chichen Itsa is a rectangular platform, 60 by 12 meters, adorned with skulls. It is also called The Platform of the Skulls. This monument is most indicative of the nature of the Mayans to engage in human sacrifices.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/11, 1/100 s)
Platform of the Eagles and Jaguars
This platform contains four stairways and displays panels that relate to the sun’s voyage across the sky during the daytime hours and its decent into the ‘underworld’. The eagles and jaguars shown are supposed to represent the warriors who catch those to be sacrificed to the god of the sun.
The Venus Platform
This square platform has staircases on both sides with raised panels that are reliefs of Venus, containing jaguar claws coming from the jaws of a serpent.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/11, 1/160 s)
Thousand Columns Group
The thousand columns group is a massive quad with, as the name suggests, a huge amount of columns that were built between 900 and 1200 AD. There is stucco covering them that has worn off which suggests that these columns were painted different colors. This group of columns was thought to support a large frieze containing masks of Chaac and shields. The function of such a space was that of a grand meeting hall whereby only 200 columns are intact today.
The Marketplace
Set on a platform about 266 feet long is known as the marketplace. It contains a central staircase and a line of pillars with alternating square pillars.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico (ISO 200, 24 mm, f/22, 1/20 s)
The Ossuary
The Ossuary is also known as the ‘High Priest Temple’ and is a pyramid at Chichen Itza. It was above above a cavern whereby one can access from the upper temple floor. There are also tombs at the cavern entrance which contained various materials like jade, crystals, and copper. The purpose of the Ossuary was for astronomical reasons which was used to estimate the rainy season.
The Caracol was also built for astronomical reasons and was one of the only circular structures built by the Mayans. Also known as the Observatory, it is built at a height of 75 feet and features a central cylindrical tower of many levels with different purposes.
A Cenote in Mexico (ISO 1600, 24 mm, f/4.5, 1/10 s)
