How to visit and what to see in Chichén Itzá, Mayan city in Mexico; prices

The appeal of a trip to Riviera Maya en Mexico It goes far beyond enjoying a stay in a great vacation resort next to beaches with palm trees,

Compared to other paradisiacal destinations, Riviera Maya shows a very interesting cultural facet, the possibility of knowing the Mayan culture.

And of the hundreds of Mayan archaeological remains what can you visit in the Yucatan peninsula, without a doubt the most notable is the ancient city of Chichén Itzá.

Located in the northern part of the interior of the peninsula, Chichén Itzá is declared Heritage awarded by the UNESCO 1988 since.

And it is also considered a Wonder of the Modern World since 2007 for the symbology of the Mayan calendars.

Curiosities of the Mayan civilization

You should know that it is a civilization with more than 2.000 years of history, which spread mainly through Guatemala, southeast of Mexico y Belize, as well as in the west of Honduras y El Salvador.

And the Mayans are not a disappeared community, since there are currently about 4 million Mayans.

when you get to Riviera Maya, it will be easy for you to recognize the Maya They are short people, about 1,65 meters for men and 1,50 meters for women, very dark, with slanted eyes due to their Asian origins, and the men without beards.

This civilization stood out for its developments in sciences as astronomy, with a more precise calendar than the one we currently use, and which dates back 5.125 years, the mathematics and medicine.

To highlight your hieroglyphic writing, one of the most developed, and there are many words that have Mayan origin, such as chocolate.

The Mayans were nomadic until they discovered corn and began to practice agriculture.

As a curiosity, the mayans They thought that man is created from corn with the blood of the gods.

Also noteworthy is the architecture of the mayans, as well as its jade crafts.

History of Chichen Itza in Yucatan

The origins of Chichen Itza They date back to the 1250th century AD, and the city was abandoned around the year 300, about XNUMX years before the arrival of lover, and currently the exact cause of said abandonment is still not known.

It is thought that it could have been as a result of a drought, or an invasion, or also due to lack of food due to the deforestation of the jungle after burning trees to build houses.

During that period it reached a great boom to the point of becoming the most important Mayan city in the Yucatan Peninsula, where it is considered that they saw more than 2.500 Mayan cities.

Chichén Itzá It reached an area of ​​25 square kilometers, of which 6 square kilometers were occupied by the religious, cultural and administrative center of the city.

Next to this ceremony center The upper class resided in palatial buildings, and the rest of the population spread around them, between 50.000 and 100.000 people, who lived in the characteristic adobe huts with palm roofs.

It should be noted that each Mayan city was independent, they were city-states of a civilization that was not organized as an empire, contrary to the conquest of the Aztec empire who was defeated by Cuts, and that never had any relationship with the Mayans.

La city ​​of Chichen Itza was finally lost among the foliage of the Yucatan jungle, and its remains were discovered in 1852.

Already at the beginning of the 20th century, this complex was bought by an American who learned of its existence and the legends of maidens who, with rich ornamentation, were sacrificed in the Sacred Cenote of Chichen Itza.

He dried it and depleted it, because in the Sacrificial Well He found up to 8000 objects and 700 human skeletons, and sold everything to several museums outside of Mexico.

Finally, in 1926 the Mexican government expropriated the then Hacienda Chichen and began the restoration of the archaeological complex.

For 8 years the complex of Chichén Itzá It is property of the state of Yucatán, which charges visitors a tax that you have to pay separately from the entrance fee.

How to visit Chichén Itzá in Riviera Maya

To visit Chichen Itza you have the option to go on your own in a rental car, or sign up for one of the numerous excursions offered in cities and large resorts de Riviera Maya.

If you choose this second option, as we did on our trip, our advice is that you book the excursion in advance.

The truth is that, contrary to what we thought, this alternative of advance purchase of the excursion It was much cheaper than the similar options offered in Yucatan.

To get to Chichen Itza, from your resort on the beach, you will go inland Yucatan peninsula along a highway that crosses the jungle with long straights and completely flat terrain with very lush vegetation.

With almost no traffic, you will practically only see tourist buses.

As you approach the archaeological site, you will leave the toll highway and go along a road.

In the section between Valladolid, a colonial-style town, and Chichén Itzá, you will cross three or four very small towns where you will guess the very simple way of life of the Mayan community currently, with very little equipment and houses that maintain the traditional palm leaf roofs.

I tell you that Chichén Itzá is a archaeological complex with a huge tourist influx, since it is the most visited Mayan city in Yucatan.

What to see when visiting Chichén Itzá in Yucatán

After crossing the ticket office area, which you will predictably find full of tourists, the focus of your visit will be the large esplanade where the tourists are concentrated. main monuments of the ceremony center.

Without a doubt, the one that will catch your attention the most is the Great Pyramid of KukulkanKnown as the castlebut also the El Caracol Observatory, the Temple of the Warriors or the set of constructions that make up the stadium of the Ball game.

All the buildings of Chichén Itzá They are built with limestone, among which, as a curiosity, it is possible to see fossilized corals.

They were painted with the five basic colors, highlighting red, of which there are remains on some walls.

One characteristics of the temples of Chichen Itza is that they were perfectly aligned with the sun.

Great Pyramid of Kukulkan in Chichen Itza

In particular, the great pyramid It is aligned with the spring equinox, and other buildings, with the solstices.

This pyramid, icon image of Chichen Itza, is built with nine superimposed platforms, measures 60 meters at the base on each side, and has 91 steps.

It took 200 years to complete, from the year 900 to 1250, and it was built with more than 600.000 tons of stones brought by thousands of men.

Archaeological work carried out in 1930 showed that inside there is another pyramidal building with nine decreasing sections, with a sanctuary at the top and an enormous statue of the god Chac Mool.

In all the Chichen Itza complex There are remains of about 2.500 buildings, but no cemeteries or tombs have been found, except for the tomb of the great Pyramid.

Great Ball Game in Chichen Itza

Another of the emblematic places of said complex is the aforementioned stadium of the Great Ball Game of the Mayans, which is oriented from north to south and is made up of five buildings, 90 meters long and 30 meters wide.

This mayan game It was invented in 1.500 BC, and it used rubber balls weighing about 4 kilos that bounced and had to be inserted through the rings carved in stone that were on the side walls of the stadium, one of which is preserved.

El Temple of the Warriors It is another prominent building on the great esplanade of the Kukulkan Pyramid, and it will catch your attention with its long rows of columns.

In this place you can also see the Temple of the Eagles and Jaguars which was used for religious ceremonies.

It is impressive to see how the noise of successive applause next to said construction resembles the song of the quetzal, a bird that was sacred to the Mayans.

Equinox in Chichen Itza

A key date in Chichén Itzá is the equinox, both in spring, on March 21, and in autumn, on September 22.

The precise construction of the great pyramid means that at sunset the appearance of a snake is created that gradually descends the stairs to the lower part of the pyramid, and after about 45 minutes, the image of the emblematic feathered serpent is formed. .

This ceremony each year brings together between 15.000 and 20.000 visitors on these dates.

What is the excursion to Chichén Itzá from Riviera Maya like?

Unless you opt for one private tour, which hired in Riviera Maya can reach really high prices, the standard excursion from a resort from Riviera Maya to Chichen Itza It takes place in a coach of up to 50 people with the company of a guide in spanish.

In the case of being housed in a resort of Riviera Maya, the first step of the excursion is to pick up the participants in the excursion at their respective hotels and then take the bus to the city of Playa del Carmen, a process that takes just over an hour.

It will take you a while to get to Chichén Itzá an hour and a quarter, although depending on the day of your excursion, the other two visits included in the excursion will be made before or after the visit to the archaeological complex.

These visits are that of a cenote, where you will eat, in addition to being able to bathe in the well or buy remembrances Mayan crafts, and a stop of about half an hour in the city of Valladolid to see its beautiful colonial-style square.

This excursion has a total duration of 9 hours, including the time necessary to drop the participants off at their hotels at the end.

Visit schedules for Chichén Itzá in Yucatán

If you go on your own, a advice for visiting Chichen Itza Without the stress you may feel from the excess of tourist groups, it means getting up very early.

The advantage is that Chichen Itza visiting hours They are, every day of the year, from Monday to Sunday, from 8,30:17 a.m. to 16 p.m., with last access at 11 p.m., and the aforementioned tourist groups do not begin to arrive until XNUMX in the morning.

Ticket prices for Chichen Itza (2023)

El entrance price to Chichen Itza for foreign tourists it is 614 Mexican pesos (31 euros), a price that already includes the Yucatan state rate which also has to be paid.

Additionally, if you want to use a video camera, you must obtain a permit for 45 pesos (2,17 euros).

Mexican residents have free entry to Chichen Itza every Sunday.