Five Can't-Miss Mayan Archaeological Sites

Aerial view of Chichen Itza

The ancestral Mayan culture pays tribute to its god, Kukulkán, with the arrival of spring. He descends along the pyramid steps of the Chichen Itzá temple in Yucatán, Mexico, to fertilize Mother Earth.

In addition to this ancient ceremonial center, the Mayans have many other sites of interest to thousands of visitors during this holiday season.

Chichen Itzá

The Pyramid of Kukulkán, the heart of the archeological area of Chichen Itzá in Yucatán, Mexico, is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and a favorite of visitors who come every year to celebrate the Spring equinox to appreciate the incredible phenomenon in which you can see how the great snake comes down to fertilize the Earth. The effect is achieved with sunlight and shadows that unfold along the grand staircase and give the illusion of being the body of Kukulkán (Plumed Serpent), considered one of the most important deities of the Mayan culture.

The ceremonial center of Chichen Itzá also has sites such as the Sacred Cenote, linked to the pyramid by a Sacbé (Sacred White Road), the Temple of a Thousand Columns, the Ball Game, and the Observatory, among others. It includes an exciting site museum that illustrates photographs and explanations of the development of this crucial pre-Hispanic city that joined the Mayan and Toltec cultures and was a significant capital between the tenth and thirteenth centuries.

Tikal

This is an archeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located in Petén, Guatemala. Visitors have the opportunity to tour a large city with pre-Hispanic vestiges in very good condition, in addition to enjoying the rich biodiversity of a wooded area that extends to neighboring countries such as Mexico and Belize. This ceremonial center has large palaces, temples, and houses that can be seen on different tours of the area.

Of particular note is the imposing Great Jaguar Temple, a vast funerary pyramid more than 50 yards high, where the Mayan King Hasaw Cha’an Kawiil is buried. This place was considered the entrance to the underworld and featured a carved jaguar at the front door. This sanctuary, located at the top of the pyramid, has three chambers with entrances crossed by wooden lintels.

The city also has other essential sites, such as the Temple of the Masks, the Temple of the Double-headed Serpent, and the Temple of the Inscriptions, as well as ballgames, other pyramids, carved monuments, and squares.

Palenque

Located in Chiapas, Mexico, this World Heritage Site was one of the Mayans’ most critical ceremonial centers and home of the dynasty of the celebrated King Pakal. It has impressive temples, tombs, palaces, squares, sculptures, and hieroglyphic inscriptions, highlighting the fabulous Temple of Inscriptions.

Its incredible architecture, sculptural representations, and writings on the walls tell the site’s religious, political, and civil history and the great battles that were held and gave power to the city. In this place, a burial chamber was discovered composed of a complete human skeleton, an offering made up of three plates, and a niche with several green stone figures.

The Temple of Inscriptions is a pyramid over 25 yards high that features countless hieroglyphic texts and stucco reliefs on its pillars. It has an interior staircase that leads to the tomb of the powerful Pakal. This building has two chambers, one with five entrances and stucco piers and the other with a central room and two laterals. A four-corner altar is located on the outer staircase.

Cobá

Located in Quintana Roo, Mexico, this pre-Hispanic site, hidden in the thicket of the Mayan jungle, recognized as an Archeological Monuments Zone in 2023, was built approximately in the year 200 before our era. This city was surrounded by five lakes and communicated by long white sacred stone roads (Sacbé), the longest being that of Yaxuná, near Chichen Itzá.

One of the most impressive structures on this site is The Church of Cobá, which is 26 yards high and has almost 10 yards of construction with steps. Inside, offerings, ceramic vessels, a jade figure, engraved snail plates, pearls, and pectorals of shells, among other things, were found. In addition to this building, Cobá has the Pyramid of Nohoch Mul, which is about 46 yards high.

Calakmul

In addition to being one of the most important cities of the ancient Mayan civilization, this site, located in the state of Campeche, Mexico, is a protected site for its rich biodiversity. It is considered the largest expanse of tropical forests in the Americas and the best preserved in the region. According to the Ministry of Tourism of Mexico, this area has more than 80 percent of the plant species of the Yucatan Peninsula, 350 species of birds and about 100 species of mammals.

In the area is the impressive city of Balamkú, which was an important civic, religious, political, administrative, and residential center, according to information from the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH). Here is the Temple of the Jaguar, composed of three architectural groups. The modeled and polychrome stucco frieze in the Central Group is unique in the Maya zone.

The South Group has a pyramidal base of more than 10 yards high, surrounded by several buildings that comprise four plazas. In addition, vestiges of masonry buildings are covered with carved ashlars and wide sidewalks. The constructions are distributed according to the four cardinal points and form rectangular squares.