chichen itza | Travel Thru History

The Serpent Shadows of Chichén Itzá

Maya Mystery in Mexico’s Yucatan

by George Fery

What we see is not always what we expect whether from nature or man-made. This is often true with archaeological remains of ancient cities or human settlements, when new discoveries shed unexpected light on old finds, leaving question marks in their wake. So, let us have a look at Chichén Itzá, the Maya pre-Columbian city in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, that is a place we thought had been thoroughly explored and visited, at last count by over five thousand people per day, but yet…

The biggest visitor’s draw take place on the spring and autumn equinoxes, when the sun plays with the angles of the northeast stairway of the Kukulcán pyramid, called El Castillo in Spanish. At that time, the course of the sun at sunset projects the shadows of the corners of the pyramid onto the vertical northeast face of the stairway balustrade, giving the visual impression of an undulating serpent slowly crawling down toward its stone head at the bottom of the stairs. Thousands of tourists gather on the Grand Plaza to witness the event. They come to simply share in a common spirit that transcends time and culture. In our age of extraordinary advance in sciences and technologies, unimaginable only twenty years ago, peoples seem to search for “something” beyond their daily lives in a swiftly changing world.

To find out how this remarkable city came to make history in the Yucatán, requires a brief look at why Chichén Itzá became such an important theocratic metropolis. Its history spans from the mid-Classic (600-900AD) to the early part of the Postclassic period (900-1200AD). The ancient city historical record, however, is clouded in uncertainty with often inconsistent description and dates. Help may be found with early Spanish chroniclers and the nine Chilam Balam books written by the Mayas in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, such as those of the towns of Chumayel, Ixil and Tizimin, among others. The Chilam Balams are collections of myths, prophesies, mythological and ritual texts among other topics. Chilam means together prophet and priest, while Balam stands for jaguar. At its height, Chichén Itzá was a major theocratic center in the lowlands, drawing pilgrims from afar with its sacred well.

From early times, the Mayas traded with cities in central Mexico, exchanging beliefs and inherent in such contacts. Toltec groups migrated sporadically to the Yucatán throughout the sixth centuries and possibly earlier. Their migration to both the west and east coasts of the lowlands intensified in the early tenth century when their objectives shifted from trade to military and political control of the peninsula. Together with the Maya-Chontal, historians call Putún, they came from Ppolè on the Yucatán’s east coast. They then united their forces at Cobá with those of the Toltecs, sixty-two miles away on the connecting sacbeh (white road), to Yaxuná, and thirteen miles from Chichén. From Yaxuná, they conquered Chichén Itzá in 987AD; this event is recorded as “the great descent.” The building of the Kukulcán’s we see today started shortly after their taking possession of the ancient city.

The Shadow and the Equinox

For the ancient Maya, the pyramid was representative of the four-sided temple-mountain, or fourfold partitioning of the world. The name of the Maya deity before the Toltecs’ Tlaloc, was Cha’ac in Yucatec. Kukulcán, that is Quetzalcoatl in the nahuatl language means “Quetzal Feathered Serpent” is a deity that came with the Toltec capital of Tula, in Mexico’s highlands. The Toltecs brought their own god Tlaloc with similar religious attributes as those of the local Maya god Cha’ak, “the longest continuously worshipped god of ancient Mesoamerica” (Miller & Taube, 1993:59). Tlaloc, like its Maya equivalent, is believed to represent the Creation Mountain. For it is the top of mountains that receive rain first in tropical highlands and holds waters in its caves helped by guardian deities. Furthermore, the pyramid is the cultural apex found in most ancient mythologies, believed to have its inverted counterpart bellow the upward structure or counter-image, in the “otherworld.”

The interface between the bases of both pyramids, is where humans and all life-forms live. This inverse perception of a world below is grounded in the belief that the vegetal world sprouts from beneath the ground. After all, are not the roots pointing down into the earth undeniable proof of nature’s perpetuation of life through its never-ending cycles of birth and rebirth? The symbolism of life’s perpetual renewal is underscored again with the serpent’s iconography that appears on numerous stone stelas, temple columns and painted on ceramics. What is seen is not the animal but its perceived power over life. The shedding of its skin was believed to be the renewal of time and life through nature’s repeated cycles. The allegorical significance of the serpent figure in agrarian cultures’ mythologies, assigns the animal shedding of its skin as its past, to live again another life.

Kukulcán is not cardinally oriented, although mythologically it is believed to sit at the center of time and space. Its corners are aligned on a northeast-southwest axis toward the rising sun at the summer equinox, and its setting point at the winter equinox, making it a monumental sun dial for the solar year. Each of the temple-pyramid’s fifty-two panels seen in the nine terraced steps, equal the number of years of the solar calendar. The pyramid’s nine levels are reminders of the nine steps to Xibalba, the underworld. Above all, Kukulcán is an instrument dedicated to the deities of nature and their role in its alternances such as night-day and life-death. The western and eastern sides of the temple are angled to the zenith sunset and nadir sunrise. The main doorway of the temple at the top of the pyramid opens to the north. The four stairways, one on each side ascending the pyramid, have 91 steps each, equal to 364 steps that, with the temple at the top, total the 365 days of the solar year, the haab’, in Maya. The north stairway is the main sacred path, that of the sun at dawn, and it is on its northeast balustrade that triangular shadows appear at sunset on spring and autumn equinoxes.

The Great Plaza, Kukulcán and the Primordial Sea

The Great Plaza that surrounds El Castillo on four sides, was completed during the New Chichén phase (900-1500AD). Symbolically, it represents the “primordial sea of creation” from which, according to Maya tradition, all life sprung at the beginning of time. The plaza’s north side, on which Kukulcán is built, was also the area where major ceremonies took place. It is bordered by the Venus Platform, close to that of the Jaguars and Eagle Warriors, behind which is the massive skull rack, or tzompantli in nahuatl. It is 164 feet long by 40 feet wide and may follow in size the biggest in Mexico-Technochtitlán. On the skull rack was a scaffold-like built of wood poles over the stone structure, on which hundreds of skulls of war captives and sacrificial victims were displayed.

On the east side of the Great Plaza is the massive Temple of the Warriors, and the no less important Ball Court to the west, the largest in the Americas – 552 feet long by 300 feet wide, with 20 feet high walls. The theocratic city inner sanctum was the Great Plaza, that was surrounded by a seven feet high wall with a number of guarded entrances, among which is the 980 feet long and 25 feet wide sacbeh.1 or “white road” that leads to the Sacred Well. There are over 34 sacbehobs (sacbeh plural), in Chichén connecting major structures and residential complexes. Most buildings are oriented 17 degrees off true north; Kukulcán is 23 degrees off.

Chichén Itza Spiritual Gateways

There are two spiritual gateways, that are linked to the temple-pyramid, one natural, the other man-made. The first is the huge sacred cenote, or sink hole, called the “Great Well of the Itza.” The name Chichén Itzá in Maya-Chontal, is made up of the words “chi” that means mouth and “chen” for well; while “itz” means sorcerer and “ha” or “á” is for water, that translate as “the mouth of the well of the water sorcerer” (Piña Chan, 1998:32). The Chilam Balam de Chumayel record an earlier name, before the Itza’s arrival, as Uuc Yabnal (“Seven Great Houses”), that is found engraved on door jambs in “Old Chichén.”

The First Spiritual Gateway is the Sacred Well, a large sink hole that was not used for domestic purposes, but for rituals. It is reached by the large elevated sacbeh.1 heading 980 feet northward from the Great Plaza. This sink hole was believed to be the place of contact with the deities of Xibalba, the “place of awe” or underworld, abode of the tantamount Maya god Cha’ak, the powerful Maya god of rain, lightning and thunder. The Sacred Well is oval shaped (164 feet by 200 feet). From its lip to the drop is 79 feet to the water and its depth 65 feet; there is a bed of mud about 20 feet thick at the bottom.

In one of the rooms of the shrine built on the south side lip of the well, was the temazcal or steam bath in the nahuatl language, to purify sacrificial victims to Cha’ak or Tlaloc. Gifts to the god were precious jade and gold, fine ceramics, jade and lives, as human remains found at its bottom testify. Of forty-two human remains, more than half were younger than twenty and fourteen were younger than twelve years old (Tozzer, 1957:212-213). Offerings in the cenote to the gods Tlaloc or Cha’ak are noteworthy for their origins, particularly gold and mix gold-copper metals (tumbaga), that were not used by the Maya, but imported from lower Central America. Atonement gifts were in reverence to the needs of the time and the demands of the deities. The archaeological record shows that human sacrifices were of both gender and of any age. In time of dire needs, however, such as persistent droughts, a community would sacrifice its best, not the sickly or the maimed. Sacrificial victims had to be able, in their prime and, the younger the better for the gods would not accept anything less.

The socio-economic organization of ancient Maya communities, as that of other ethnic groups at the time, revolved around agriculture. At the Yucatán’s latitude there are only two seasons, which meant two harvests. Hence the Maya religious organization that adhered to a close partnership with nature. The gods and deities from above and below humankind plane were those believed to drive the fundamentals of sun, rain and the vegetal world. Those fundamentals are enshrined in the Maya-K’iche’ sacred book, the Popol Vuh or Book of Counsel, which describes the creation of the universe by the gods who, after failing four times, succeeded in creating humankind out of maize dough.

The “Feathered Serpent” is a mythological deity of the Toltecs found in Late Classic architecture (600-900AD). In Guatemala the deity was called Guqumatz by the Maya-K’iche’, while the Maya-Lacandón refer to it as an evil monstrous snake, the pet of the sun god. Before the Toltecs, the Maya god of agriculture, wind, and storms was Cha’ak, “the longest continuously worshipped god associated with abundance and fertility in ancient Mesoamerica” (Miller & Taube, 1993:59). Kukulcán appears in the mid-Classic Maya period (800-1500AD), as the Vision Serpent.

The serpent sculpted on monuments at Chichén Itzá and other Mesoamerican sites is a metaphor, for it was perceived as it slithers, as the swirls of smoke following self-sacrifice by a member of the nobility or the priesthood. After a self-inflicted wound, a person’s blood would drip on thin sheets of dry bark paper that was then burned. The swirling smoke of the burning bloodstained bark paper was believed to carry the prayers of the supplicant to ancestors and deities, seeking their guidance for living another day in a dangerous world. For ceremonies, copal nodules called pom in Maya-K’iche’, are used instead of human blood. Copal is a tree resin obtained from the sap of the copal tree (protium copal), emblematic of the vegetal world’s “blood.” In the Yucatán today, for Chac Xib Cha’ak ceremonies or “Red Man Cha’ak”, fowls and small mammals may also be sacrificed to plead for rain and a good corn harvest.

The Second Gateway is the Toltec style I-shaped Great Ball Court is the second spiritual gateway. It is man-made but no less a powerful portal, located on the west side of the Great Plaza. Four temples are associated with the ball court, the Upper and Lower Temples of the Jaguars as well as the North and South Temples. For the ancient Mayas and Toltecs, ritual games played in ball courts were believed to open a portal to the “otherworld” This “gateway” however, could only take place during a ritual fateful game destined to end in sacrifice. The Book of Counsel (Popol Vuh) stresses that the deities of Xibalba in the underworld, did not play unless a ritual contest took place simultaneously above ground. It is only when ritual games were concurrent in this world and the “other” that the interplay between the participants in the two worlds were believed to materialize, that is, open the door to the underworld. Through history, secular and ritual games underline the same need to keep peace and balance within and between communities as well as with gods and deities. Secular games did not involve sacrifice and took place more frequently, with the same intensity as our games today, along with heated betting on teams and players. Essential to ritual games, however, and to a certain extent secular games as well, was the need to keep in check latent antagonism between factions of the same polity, as well as between polities.

The Pyramid Within and Balamku’s Cave Below

Building larger structures over smaller ones was a common practice in Maya and other ancient Mesoamerican cultures. The reason was that any man-made structure was the product of culture and therefore was believed to be saturated with the ancestral power of those who ordered its construction, together with that of their stone carvers, and could not willingly be destroyed. The pyramid within Kukulcán, discovered by archaeologists in 1958, has a single stairway that faces northeast; it has sixty-one steps and a temple on top with two parallel galleries. There is a triple molding on its façade and a frieze showing a parade of jaguars, shields and two intertwined serpents over its main door. In the antechamber of the inner temple was found a red jaguar that may have served as a throne for the High Priest. On the seat was an offering of a turquoise mosaic disk. The jaguar is painted red on polished limestone; the teeth are made of flint, and there are incrustations of fine jade disks for its eyes and on its body for the animal spots. Architectural similarities between the two pyramids indicate that the one within may also be of Toltec origin, possibly built 650-750AD. Was the “serpent” shadow also seen on the buried structure at spring and autumn equinoxes? Unlikely.

In 1958 a cenote or sink hole was found sixty-five feet beneath Kukulcán, its waters running from north to south. The pyramid seats on a 16-20 feet thick limestone layer above the sink hole’s dome. The discovery, together with a man-made corridor below the cenote, was sealed off from the outside world, probably for lack of resources to further its exploration at the time. The cenote and the cave system were “re-discovered” during the ongoing research project GAM-Gran Acuifero Maya (2016), that expands below the archaeological complex and beyond, including the cenotes Xtoloc, Kanjuyún and Holtún. The cenote below the pyramid is at the center of the Toltec mythical world, its axis mundi. Sink holes, above and below ground, were regarded as gateways to another side of reality, for water was perceived to be the single most important medium for the survival of all life forms. Below Kukulcán’s sink hole, a cave that was also found in 1958, was partially explored in 2018 by the National Geographic’s arqueologists Guillermo de Anda, Ana Celis and their team of investigators from the Great Maya Aquifer Project (GAM). During their investigations was found below the cenote, a 1,500 feet long corridor difficult of access.

The archaeologists called the cave Balamkú, that is Maya for “Jaguar God ” for its ancient name is unknown. The black jaguar is a central figure in Mesoamerican and other pan-American mythologies, because of the belief in the animal’s ability to enter and leave the underworld at will, while the spotted jaguar is symbolic of the deities and powers of light. Maya cave ceremonies, especially those that took place in their deepest recess, were bound to rituals performed within the underworld. Those rituals were enacted to symbolically “re-enter the womb” in addition to a sense of rebirth and renewal upon exiting the cave, inherent to initiation. Exploration of the cave system was funded in part by a grant from the National Geographic Society, in cooperation with the University of California at Los Angeles. So far, over 170 ceramic bi-conical censers and other pots were found in seven small rooms carved out of the limestone walls and were identified as those of the Toltec god Tlaloc. The ceramics are dated from the Late Classic (700-800AD) to the Terminal Classic (800-1000AD), contemporaneous with those in the nearby cave at Balamkanché. This important discovery will no doubt help rewrite Chichén Itzá’s history.

In the archaeologist Guillermo de Anda’s opinion, Balamkú seems to be what he called the “mother” of Balamkanchè located 2.5 mile away, since as he puts it “I don’t want to say that quantity is more important than information, but when you see that there are many, many offerings in a cave that is also exceedingly difficult of access, this tells us something” (2017:15). Archaeologists now have the opportunity to answer some of the most perplexing questions that continue to stir controversy among professionals, such as the level of contacts and influence exchanged between Maya highland and lowland cultures, as well as with central Mexico, and perhaps clarify what was going on in the Maya world prior to the building of the first pyramid at Chichén Itzá.

Chichén Yet to be Discovered

There still is a lot to be discovered at Chichén Itzá, since much more is hidden, as work on Balamkú reminds us. Furthermore, excavation programs in the Great Plaza, started in 2009, revealed buried structures that pre-date Kukulcán. By then we already knew about the pyramid within. Puzzling discoveries and wonders are certain to continue. We will visit Chichén Itzá again of course, since this story is only a glimpse of the ancient city’s complex history, while so much more wait to be brought to light. Understanding the “whos” “whys”, “whens” and “hows” of the city’s great past will take a few more “stories” and interpretations in the light of ongoing discoveries.

Whether or not sharing the serpent’s shadow during the equinoxes help visitors in their quest for balance in their lives, they will leave the ancient city and return home with fascination and wonder. What else does Chichén Itzá, and its great pyramid hold? And what happened to Kukulcán? After the defeat of Chichén Itzá by the Cocom ruler Unac Ceel of Mayapán in the thirteenth century, Kukukcán moved with the conqueror to the new Maya political epicenter, sixty-five miles to the west…but that is another story.

Credits for Photos & Illustrations

Equinox Shadow by Fernando Pineyro in postcardemexico.com
Kukulcan and Temple of Venus georgefery.com
A World Below georgefery.com
Chichen Itza Great Plaza georgefery.com
Sacred Well of Sacrifices georgefery.com
The Serpent and the Equinox georgefery.com
The Great Ballcourt georgefery.com
Two Kukulcans Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, 1998:21
Gateways to Another Life INAH-GAM in geofisica.com.mx
Great Plaza Discoveries georgefery.com

Bibliography – References:

Román Piña Chan, 1998 – Chichén Itzá, La Ciudad de los Brujos del Agua
Ralph, L. Roys, 1967 – The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel
Scarborough & D. R. Wilcox, 1991 – The Mesoamerican Ballgame
Linda Schele & Peter Mathews, 1998 – The Code of Kings
Ralph L. Roys, 1965 – Ritual of the Bacabs, A Book of Maya Incantations
Eric S. Thompson, 1970 – Maya History and Religion
Fray Diego de Landa, 1966 – Relación de las Cosas de Yucatan
Clemency Chase Coggins, 1984 – Cenote of Sacrifice
Mary Miller & Karl Taube, 1993 – The Gods and Sybols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya
Linda Schele & David Freidel, 1990 – The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya
Nigel Davies, 1980 – The Toltec Heritage
Robert J. Sharer & Loa P. Traxler, 2006 – The Ancient Maya

Chichen Itza Tours Now Available:

Private tour to Chichen Itza, Valladolid and Ek Balam
VIP Chichen Itza & Coba Private Tour
From Cancun & Riviera Maya: Early-Bird Chichen Itza, Cenote & Valladolid Tour
Chichen-Itza Evening Light Show & Ik Kil Blue Cenote Tours~Also Accessible Tour

About the author:

Freelance writer, researcher, and photographer, Georges Fery (georgefery.com) addresses topics, from history, culture, and beliefs to daily living of ancient and today’s indigenous communities of the Americas. His articles are published online in the U.S. at travelthruhistory.com, popular-archaeology.com, and ancient-origins.net, as well as in the quarterly magazine Ancient American (ancientamerican.com). In the U.K. his articles are found in mexicolore.co.uk.

The author is a fellow of the Institute of Maya Studies instituteofmayastudies.org Miami, FL, and The Royal Geographical Society, London, U.K. rgs.org. As well as a member in good standing of the Maya Exploration Center, Austin, TX mayaexploration.org, the Archaeological Institute of America, Boston, MA archaeological.org, NFAA-Non Fiction Authors Association nonfictionauthrosassociation.com, and the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, DC. americanindian.si.edu.

Three Ways to Visit the Maya Ruins

by Jett & Kathryn Britnell

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Riviera Maya is a fanciful 20th century tourist slogan given to a rather scenic stretch of Caribbean coastline on Mexico’s northeastern Yucatán Peninsula. Famous for its beautiful sun-drenched beaches and all-inclusive resorts and hotels, Riviera Maya’s tourism district lies approximately 17-kilometres (10-miles) south of Cancun, Mexico beginning at the quiet fishing village of Puerto Morelos and stretching south to Playa del Carmen, Puerto Aventuras and Akumal before coming to an end at the Maya town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Two thousand years ago, long before they were conquered by Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th century, the Yucatán Peninsula was the ancestral home of the indigenous Maya civilization.

Pyramids, Plazas and Temples

While many people flock to Riviera Maya solely to drink cold Coronas while sun worshipping on white sand beaches splashed by a crystal-clear turquoise ocean, there are many who choose to ruin their Mexican vacation by stepping back in history by visiting some ancient archeological masterpieces. Today, the Maya’s past is revealed in the impressive crumbling ruins of their elaborate pyramids, plazas and temples which are scattered throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. Many archeological structures still remain undiscovered as they are hidden from view by thick vegetation and cloaked by dense jungle. While there are a seemingly endless number of ancient sites to explore, Chichén Itzá, Tulum and Cobá are three of the Riviera Maya’s finest and most diverse collection of archaeological sites that are easy to visit, and yet, they still possess some unique mysteries to entice modern day explorers.

“Nosotros los Maya”

They called themselves “Nosotros los Maya,” a Spanish phrase which means “We the Maya.” The Maya civilization developed one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas. Despite worshiping many different Gods related to nature, the Maya are known to have practiced human sacrifice. With their knowledge in astronomy and mathematics, the Maya developed an accurate calendar system. OK, so let’s acknowledge that cataclysmic “the world is going to end” prophecy that was supposed to happen when the Maya calendar ended in 2012. Well, it didn’t happen because the Maya calendar did not end on Dec. 21, 2012, and there never were any Mayan prophecies foretelling the end of days on this date. This date simply signified the end of the Mayan long-count period. Just as a modern calendar begins again on January 1st, so too does the Mayan calendar begin a new long-count period. But, I digress.

Maya also invented the mathematical concept of zero and developed a complex system of hieroglyphic writing. Of course, they also constructed lavishly large cities with pyramids, temples, palaces, ball courts, and grand plazas. Which begs the question, why did this seemingly advanced culture for its time disappear? Scholars have put forward numerous theories, one being the Maya were wiped out by a severe drought and the other being deforestation negatively impacted the environment making their advanced farming techniques and way of life unsustainable. To this day, nobody knows for sure what caused their demise.

Chichén Itzá: “Mouth of the Well of The Itzá”

Spanish Conquistadors discovered Chichén Itzá in the early 1500’s, but by then the city had long been abandoned and all the Spanish conquerors found were crumbling buildings overgrown by dense jungle. Strategically located in the heart of the northern Yucatán peninsula roughly half-way between Merida and Cancun, Chichén Itzá is one of Mexico’s most visited tourist destinations with more than two million visitors annually. A ceremonial and sacred center for the ancient Maya civilization, Chichén Itzá, which translates as “Mouth of the Well of the Itzá”, was so named for the large cenote and fresh water source by the first settlers of the city. Tracing its roots to the fifth century AD, Chichén Itzá’s massive archaeological site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 and its iconic Temple of Kukulkan (locals generally use the pyramid’s Spanish name, El Castillo) was designated one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2006.

El Castillo (the Castle) is a 23-metre (75- feet) high multi-tiered pyramid and is the most iconic monument in the city. Back when I made my first visit here in 1987, you could carefully climb to the top of the pyramid. Unfortunately, climbing is no longer allowed due to some tourists who defaced the interior of the six-metre-tall throne room on top of the pyramid. This monument is an astrological wonder with 91 steps per side and the final 365th step on top representing the solar year. Each of the pyramid’s corners faces one of the cardinal directions so that people could use the edifice to navigate. Some people specifically plan to make a visit here during the spring or fall equinoxes (March and September) at about 3PM, when the sun casts triangular shadows down the north side of the pyramid’s terraces to show how the stones have been laid to look like snakes slithering down the staircase. If you prefer to avoid the inevitable huge crowds for this bi-annual event, the shadowy serpent effect is recreated each evening during a spectacular light and sound show which is projected on the pyramid. As if the Maya mysteries are piled on top of one another, in recent years it was discovered that El Castillo was built upon another much older temple.

Other notable structures of Chichén Itzá include the astronomical Observatory, the Grand Ball Court the Group of the Thousand Columns, Temple of the Jaguars, the Temple of the Warriors, the Temple of the Wall Panels, and the Sacred Cenoté to name a few. Once a source of water for agriculture, the escape-proof Sacred Cenoté was later used for large scale ceremonial human sacrifices honoring the God of Rain. Many of Chichén Itzá’s stone buildings are also famous for their unusual acoustics. For example, if you stand in just the right spot at the bottom of the El Castillo pyramid and either hand clap, or whistle, you can hear the distinctive echo of a “chirp”. Additionally, if you clap your hands once at one end of the Grand Ball Court, it produces nine echoes in the middle of the court.

Tulum: A Name Given By Explorers

Perched majestically atop a jagged seaside cliff, overlooking a white sand beach and facing east toward the Caribbean Sea, Tulum boasts one of the most attractive settings of all Mexico’s archeological sites. As one of the very few walled cities build by the Maya, it is truly quite stunning in comparison to other Mayan ruins on the Yucatán Peninsula which seems to support that oft heard real estate agents’ mantra, “location, location, location.” Tulum lies just 129- kilometres (80-miles) south of Cancun and receives thousands of visitors every day making it one of the most frequently visited Maya ruins on the entire Riviera Maya. Built as a sea port for Cobá, this ancient walled city formerly may have been called, Zamá, which means “Place of the Dawning Sun.” It’s believed Tulum’s first inhabitants named their city Zama because it faces the sunrise. Tulum, a Mayan word which translates as “trench” or “wall,” is the name given to this city by explorers Stephens and Catherwood in 1841. Interestingly, Tulum’s fortress walls are located on only three sides as the ocean and the sea cliff protects its eastern border.

Built atop a 12-metre (40-feet) limestone cliff rising abruptly from a turquoise sea, the “El Castillo” pyramid is the tallest building within the city and served as a lighthouse that guided ships toward this major port by aligning two torches to help the vessels safely navigate through the surrounding reef. Visible at sea from miles away, this great walled city must have been a sight to behold with its red, white and blue painted buildings and flickering flames emanating from atop the lighthouse. During its heyday, Tulum was a major trading hub for both inland and seafaring goods from as far away as Guatemala and modern-day Honduras and was in effect a trade distribution center for goods going between other settlements along the Yucatán Peninsula, including Cobá and Chichén Itzá.

Known to be the last city built and inhabited by the Maya, it is thought to have morphed into a religious center for priests that remained active during the Spanish invasion. By the end of the 16th century, Old World diseases and epidemics brought by the Spanish had decimated the Maya population and Tulum was abandoned. After entering the ruins through one of five doorways in the ruin’s 5-metre (16-feet) high fortress walls, visitors enter a sun-baked compound with gently rolling hills and more than 60 principal and secondary Mayan buildings or structures. Although we have walked these grounds many times, we always learn something new about Tulum’s noble past with each visit.

Cobá: “Waters Stirred by The Wind”

Many moons ago a good friend told me Cobá was his favorite Mayan archeological site. I wholeheartedly agree as these Cobá’s ruins are definitely a “must see” and provides a fertile landscape for channeling your inner Indiana Jones. Less crowded and with fewer visitors than at Chichén Itza or Tulum, Cobá comes closest to being a lost city in the jungle. Cobá, is a Yucatec Maya name which translates as “waters stirred by the wind”, which seems appropriate given the location of its expansive ancient ruins surrounded by two large crocodile-infested lagoons. Centrally and conveniently located just 48-kilometres (30-miles) northwest of Tulum and 60-kilometres (37-miles) southeast of Valladolid, archeologists estimate Cobá was abandoned when the Spanish conquered the Peninsula around 1550. Cobá’s history remained unknown for centuries as the site was not visited by modern day explorers until the 1920’s because the site was inaccessible due to its impenetrable dense jungle and the Caste War of Yucatán (1847–1901).

Archaeologists believe Cobá was one of the most important Mayan settlements as their design and purpose was very different from other Maya cities. Cobá is not a single site, but a large group of man-made ruins spread over more than 80-square kilometres (30-square miles). Over 16 “white limestone roads” called sacbes that originate at the main pyramid and stretch out through the jungle in the four cardinal directions; north, south, east and west. These highways, ranging in width from 3.5 to nine metres (10 to 30-feet), were constructed for commerce. Goods were transported along the sacbes at night when temperatures were cooler than during daylight. Under the moonlight, the white limestone would be illuminated and light the causeway for travellers. Evidently, the ingenuity required to construct these wide and long roadways exceeded that needed to construct Maya stone buildings and temples.

Cobá’s rugged ruins are fascinating to explore. Many structures remain unexcavated and are hidden by lush vegetation and trees growing on and around them. It’s estimated more than 6,000 structures are scattered throughout the jungle, but only three partially-restored settlements are open for public viewing. Cobá’s star attraction is climbing the 120 steps of the Nohoch Mul (which means “great mound”) pyramid. Standing at 42-metres tall (137-feet), this is the tallest pyramid on Riviera Maya and the view from the top of this pyramid provides a stunning panorama of the Yucatan jungle, including both the Macanxoc Lagoon to the east and Cobá Lagoon to the southwest. Every year there seems to be official talk about shutting down climbing to the top of the pyramid, but a climbing ban has yet to be passed. So, the time to visit Cobá is now, Nohoch Mul is closed to pyramid climbers.

Private Tour: Chichen Itza, Ek Balam Cenote, and Tequila Factory

If You Go:

How Not to Visit the Ruins?

Whether you rent a car, join a tour group or take public transportation, Chichén Itzá, Tulum and Cobá require partial to full day trips from Riviera Maya resorts and hotels. If you prefer to enjoy the ruins without being surrounded by crowds of tourists, plan to arrive first thing in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid crowds bused in from Riviera Maya resorts and hotels. The most optimal time of year to visit Riviera Maya’s archeological ruins is during the dry season which begins in late November and ends in February. Generally, there is less rainfall and daytime temperatures are more tolerable and are certainly not as hot as during the summer months. Extreme heat and humidity during the summer months make the interior sites in the jungle oppressive and mosquitoes are also more prevalent that time of year. Of course, wear some durable walking shoes, put on a sun hat, wipe on some sunscreen and carry some drinking water. If there is an opportunity to do so, don’t pass up a chance to cool yourself down by going for a swim in a Cenoté. Formed by the collapse of porous limestone bedrock, Cenotés are natural groundwater pools that are found throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. The Maya thought these turquoise pools were “Portals to the Underworld.”

Luxury Bus Tour to Chichen Itza from Cancun or Riviera Maya

About the authors:

Jett & Kathryn Britnell are professional underwater, wildlife & expedition photographers, internationally published writers, scuba divers, explorers, shark advocates, guest speakers, book reviewers, wine connoisseurs, single-malt scotch swillers, marine conservationists and devil may care adventurers. Both are Fellows of Canada’s prestigious Royal Canadian Geographical Society, Fellows of the famed Royal Geographical Society in London, members of the British Columbia Association of Travel Writers, Matador Network Ambassadors and authors of a monthly adventure column called Third Age Expeditions for Luxe Beat Magazine. Jett is also a Fellow of the world renowned and exclusive Explorers Club, a member of the Ocean Artists Society, a featured photographer of The Ocean Agency and a consultant to Elephanatics, an elephant advocacy organization residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Photos by Jett and Kathryn Britnell.