AKA Chicken Pizza! (Chichen Itza)

Member Name: lm09

Product:	Chichen Itza
Date:	18/04/09 (147 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Wonderful historical ruins of an ancient civilisation

Disadvantages: Nowhere great to eat around the ruins

I visited Chichen Itza in July 2003 as part of a two week stay in Playa Del Carmen. Chichen Itza is located around 120 miles to the west of Playa Del Carmen. Having already visited the Mayan ruins of Tulum, I was really keen to see what is considered the crown jewels of Mexico's Mayan sites. The trip I took was organised through Kuoni and the cost for both transportation and the entrance to the site with a guide was $60 US Dollars. The guide went by the name (I kid you not) Duran Duran!

The journey from my hotel, the Riu Tequilla, to Chichen Itza took around 3 hours and involved an early start. The drive intially along the Mexican highway 307 was a comfortable one until the turn off from near Tulum onto a Mexican A road which wasn't built for bus transport. This route though does get you right off the tourist track and gives a taste of the real Yucatan lifestyle of the locals. Our bus also stopped for 3o minutes in the busy bustling city of Valladolid.

From Valladolid it is just another 15 miles to the great Mayan site of Chichen Itza. The first thing that you notice even when we pulled up at 10 o clock in the morning is the number of tour coaches already parked up at the site. Chichen Itza is one of the most visited sites in all of Mexico. With this in mind if you are on a tour, it is a good plan to remember either your buses pick up site or at least a few features of it to help you find it again.

Chichen Itza then is a huge Mayan site which has the massive iconic Pyramid of Kukulucan at its heart. The Mayan translation is loosely 'at the mouth of the well of itza' and it is a massive site spread over a half mile square. It was first established, it is believed, around the later part of the 9th century during the Classic Mayan period. Established in the Northern Mayan lowlands is was an important site in terms of its location and was a major trading city.

Amazingly the site itself was only re-discovered in the late 19th century by an American explorer who on a trip through the jungle stumbled on the massive pyramid. The whole site was bought for $75 by Edward Thompson, a Harvard professor who got to work with machinery and assitance to fully explore the site and open it up from the jungle to the site we have today.

A few quick tips for you. Firstly as with any trip in the Mexican sun that isn't to a local bar, make sure you take loads of drinking water as the heat of sun is intense. Secondly at Chichen Itza try and make sure you get a good guide. Duran Duran was great and really bought the place to life.

We entered through the Western entrance and the first massive ruin we came across was the Major Ball Court. The Mayans played an ancient ball game where the participants used their elbows, hips and knees to knock a rubber ball around, with the aim being to get the ball through a small hole varying in height from the floor depending on the ball court. This can be observed being played at Xcaret near Playa Del Carmen and seeing it was a great spectacle. The ball game was a team sport with the winning team all being sacrificed to the Gods after the game! This I believe is still present in Mexican football today. Can anyone name a great Mexican centre forward!!

The ball court in Chichen Itza is the biggest in all of Mexico at around 120 meters in length. Around the court are massive stadium seating areas that surround the court which at the southern end have statues engraved into them. The Mayan rulers had their own Royal box area sectioned away from the hoi polloi. Duran Duran, our guide and not the 80's pop group, also demonstrated the incredible accoustics of the ball court with his voice from one end travelliing the full length of the ball court.

On exiting the ball court we got our first sight on the amazing El Castillo (Pyramid of Kukulcan). At 25 meters tall this would have been an amazing discovery when someone walking through dense jungle stumbled across the it. At the time of our visit it was still possible to climb to the top of the tower up two of the sides. Duran Duran advised us that the year we were to be there was to be the last year that it would be possible to climb the pyyramid so I feel really priveledge to have made the climb. From a distance the pyramid doesn't look steep but take my word for it it really is steep. I am a good and confident climber but hate coming down and the severity of the descent is quiet scary. Being Mexico there are no ropes or safety rails to assit you in the climb or at the top. The top of the pyramid gets very crowded and it can be quite disconcerting trying to take photos with people joslting and pushing you nearer the edge. On top of the pyramid is another temple but the best thing about the top is the un-believable view.

For 360 degrees all you can see is tropical jungle with the incredible ruins of Chichen Itza in the foreground. With the heat and humidity and the stunning blue sky, standing on top of the great pyramid, it makes the Western world and work seems a different life ago. This is an amazing never to be forgotten sight and experience. Even writing it now, 5 years later, I can remember the heat, the view and the beauty of Mexico. The phots I have from the top are amazing. You get great views of the Temple of Los Guerreros and Chac Mool seemingly guarded by the hundreds of stone columns which seem to act as stone warriors.

The pyramid then and some amazing facts about it. Firstly the design of the pyramid. Nothing is chance or fluke, this is an incredible piece of architecture and mathematics. Firstly the pyramid is a reflection of the Mayan calender. The four stairways of the pyramid have 91 steps equalling (I'll do the maths) 364 with the top platform being the last step 365. Days in the Mayan calender = 365! The Mayan months, 18-20 months are also reflected in the number of separate platforms that descend the stairs. However the most amazing is yet to come. If you visit the pyramid around the equinoxes (March 20th or September 21st (ish)) the pyramid comes alive. The pyramid was built in such away the the shadow cast by the sun on the days of the equinox makes it appear that a masssive snake is climbing up the corners of the pyramid. How impressive it is that the ancient Mayans were able to build such a massive structure with such refinement and science at a time when, in Europe, basic maths was an issue.

Oh and theres more. Inside the pyramid is another pyramid which it is possible to enter. There are always massive queues to get in and the route to the centre is not for those who dislike cramped spaces. However it is well worth the time and the queue to get in. Inside is the amazing Jaguar Throne with eyes of jade that looks like it has just been left a few hours before. The pyramid and the throne are absolute wonders and no visit to Mexico is complete with seeing the great pyramid.


Their are numerous other smaller ball courts, pyramids and temples around the site and I would suggest that with long travelling time you give yourselves at least 4 hours at the site to have a wonder. The other great site our guide took us to the was the Sacred Cenote (the well). The well itself is a short walk of about half a mile north from the pyramid. In itself it is just a well but the guides story of the virgins that were sacrificed into the well bring the place to life. in 1923 divers exploring the site and the Cenote did indeed bring back skeletons of numerous men, women and children!

The only problem with any visit to this incredible site is the lack of decent eateries either on the site or around. I suppose being ruthless and business like the restaurant owners around the site are not looking to build up a loyal and returning customer base and to this effect the food is not of any great standard. It is very much tourist scran quickly prepared and cooked and quickly forgotten. This however is just a minor quibble being in such an incredible place.

Chichen Itza is an absolute must see on any visit to Mexico and anyone with an interest in the Mayan people will be in absolute heaven wondering around in the footsteps of an amazing civilisation.

Summary: An unmissible excursion if you are in the Yucatan. Drag yourself off the beach and enjoy!