Chichen Itza - Mexico
/The greatest wisdom is in simplicity. Love, respect, tolerance, sharing, gratitude, forgiveness. It’s not complex or elaborate. The real knowledge is free. It’s encoded in your DNA. All you need is within you. Great teachers have said that from the beginning. Find your heart, and you will find your way.
– Carlos Barrios, Mayan elder and Ajq’ij of the Eagle Clan
I wanted to focus the last part of my 3-part series on the Mayans. Why, because of their importance to modern day society. Although the Mayans have a violent reputation, their intelligence in scientific achievements, such as agriculture, engineering and communications, as well as their connection to the Gods and astronomy are absolutely astonishing and a thousand years ahead of their time.
One of the most popular creations of the Mayans in today’s modern society is the calendar. (Remember the 2012 phenomenon around the end of the world?) Their calendar helped predict solar eclipses and was used to aid them with planting and harvesting. Their calendar system was made up of 2 calendars; a 260-day sacred year and a 365-day secular year, similar to the one we use today.
You can read more about the impact the Mayans had on modern society here.
The Mayans were able to build amazing architectural structures and cities without modern machinery and the essential tools we have today. It is no surprise that in 2007 over 100 million people, worldwide, voted to declare the main pyramid “El Castillo” of Chichen Itza one of the 7 world wonders. It is one of the reasons I was so intrigued to visit the Mayan city, which for me, triggered another reason to visit the wonders of Mexico.
So what better way to honor their contributions to our modern society than to visit one of the largest most important Mayan complexes in the world?
Just 2 hours west of Cancun, you’ll find Chichen Itza. One of the largest (if not, thee largest) complex of Mayan ruins in the Yucatan Peninsula. (You can read my blog on Cancun here.)
The Maya name: "Chichen Itza" means " at the edge of the Itza's well." This derives from chi', meaning "mouth" or "edge", and ch'e'en, meaning, "well." Itza is the name of an ethnic-lineage group that dominated the northern peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico prior to the Spanish conquest. It is believed that "Itza" derives from the Maya itz, meaning "magic," and meaning "water;" therefore, Itza means: "Water Magicians."The well that the name is probably referring to is the Sacred Cenote located in the Chechen Itza. I talk more about this cenote a bit later.
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The focal point in Chichen Itza is the massive step pyramid, known as El Castillo or Temple of Kukulcan. El Castillo represents the Snake Mountain, a mystic place in Maya folklore where creation first occurred. It’s dedicated to the feathered serpent god, Quetzalcoatl.
Each of El Castillo’s four sides has 91 steps which, when added together and including the temple platform, equals the 365 days of the solar year. Each of the nine terraces are divided in two, which makes 18, symbolizing the number of months in the Maya calendar. The terraces contain a total of 52 panels, referring to the 52-year cycle when both the solar and religious calendars converge.
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The Mayans, which invented the concept of zero, and who mastered astrology, created the temple as a physical calendar that aligns with the sun. It’s designed with such perfection that in the late afternoon on the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun casts shadows depicting the body of a serpent that slithers down the steps and who’s body eventually links with the stone serpent’s head at the bottom of the staircases of the pyramid. My next visit to Chichen Itza will be to see this with my own eyes!
The serpents head where the body of the serpent, made by the shadow, connects with its body.
Chichen Itza also has the largest and best-preserved ball court of any Mesoamerican discovered site. This is where the Mayans played ball, which ended with a human sacrifice to please the Gods. The ball court is also known for its amazing acoustic, meaning that if you clap loudly seven times, it will echo back seven times.
The Grand Ball Court - You can read more about the ball games here
This is where the ball needed to be thrown into
Next to the Great Ball Court, is the Temple of the Skulls. The heads of sacrificial victims were displayed here, together with those that lost the ball game. The head of the losers would be impaled on this skull rack and their blood was offered as food for the Gods. The carvings you’ll see on the rocks are of human sacrifice, eagles eating human hearts and skeletonized warriors with shields and arrows.
Temple of the Skulls
Another must see in Chichen Itza is the Temple of The Warriors. This is a large stepped pyramid with a series of impressive columns, spacious patios and halls. You can no longer climb the stairs (unfortunately you can’t climb El Castillo either) but at the top of this temple is a Chac Mool. Chac Mool’s are considered messengers of the Gods and used to hold religious offerings in the upraised flat plate area on the figure’s stomach. Some say that this is where beating hearts of the sacrificial victims were placed as a spectacle for the crowds standing in the area below.
Along the south wall of the Temple of The Warriors are a series of about 200 columns, prompting the name Plaza of a Thousand Columns. When Chichen Itza was inhabited these would have supported an extensive roof system.
Temple of The Warriors columns
At the top of the stairway on the temple’s summit sits Chac Mool, a statue depicting a reclining figure supporting itself on its elbows with a bowl or a disk upon its stomach.
You can’t leave Chichen Itza without visiting the Sacred Cenote. You can read all about cenotes in my Riviera May post here.
This impressive sinkhole was exclusively used for ceremonial purposes, where men, women and children were thrown into it alive as a sacrifice to the Gods during the times of droughts. This cenote is very deep. You can walk down its steep steps to a large cavern where you’ll reach the water. Lots of people swim in this cenote, but I will admit, it did feel really eerie and the water is so deep you can’t see the bottom.
The Sacred Cenote
Other complexes in Chichen Itza worth visiting are listed below:
The Temple of the Bearded Man - This temple has a center figure that has carving under his chin that resembles facial hair.
The Temple of the Bearded Man
Tomb of the High Priest - Also known as the Osario Temple. It is a step temple with staircases on each side. It has the strongest resemblance to El Castillo. The sides of the stairways are decorated with interwoven feathered serpents. Pillars near this structure are in the form of the Toltec feathered serpent and human figures.
Tomb of the High Priest
The following are also interesting to visit:
- El Caracol – Spanish for the snail. It’s an observatory where the Mayans could view the sky above the vegetation without any obstruction, and architecturally, it is almost perfectly aligned with the planet Venus.
- Casa Colorada – Spanish for the Red House. One of the best-preserved buildings that gets its name from the red paint that once decorated the inner walls. It could have been an elite residence.
- Nunnery Complex – Named by the Spaniards because it reminded them of a monastery, it’s believed to have been a palace for Mayan royalty.
- La Iglesia – Spanish for The Church, was probably also named by the Spaniards because it was located next to the Nunnery. It’s one of the oldest buildings in Chichen Itza and contains structures of Mayan Gods, called Bacah, whose job was to hold up the sky.
You can get a map of Chichen Itza and read more about its history and buildings here
Tips for visiting Chichen Itza:
Get there early, it will take you about 2-3 hours to see the whole area and depending on the time of year you go, you won’t melt walking around in the afternoon heat.
After touring the complex, give yourself sometime to swim in the Sacred Cenote, schedule this into your tour. I wish we would have known that we could do this in advance.
When you visit, take a hat, sunscreen, comfortable shoes and a bottle of water. If you’re going to swim in the Sacred Cenote, take a bathing suit, water shoes and a towel in a small bag. You’ll have to carry this around as you explore the complex, unless you can leave your bags in the car or you get an amazing tour guide that can hold or get them for you. The walk from the car, to the main entrance, to the cenote is pretty long.
Visit it with a personalized tour guide for 2 reasons:
If you get a tour guide that is an amazing storyteller, you will be so encompassed in what occurred in the daily life of Mayan culture, that you will get chills, scared, grossed out, amazed and awed all at the same time! This really is important to your experience in Chichen Itza.
If you’re in a small group, you can stand to the side, away from the crowds, and really take in all the history. You’ll also move faster throughout the complex.
If you love historic architecture and pyramids, you’ll enjoy my post on the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Check it out here.
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