Autopista Mérida - Cancún
Highway 180 leads west from Cancún towards the city of Mérida, the...
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El Castillo (or Pyramid of Kukulkán)
The pyramid, sustained by a square base measuring 60 yards (55.5...
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Temple of the Jaguars at Chichén-Itzá
Named for the carvings of the big jaguars on its upper walls, this temple is...
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El Castillo de Chichén-Itzá
Standing 30 meters (100 feet) high and topped with a rectangular temple, the...
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Close-up of Temple of the Jaguars
The interior walls of the chamber are decorated with carvings of warriors in...
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Throne of the Jaguar at Chichén-Itzá
The statue of the jaguar at the entrance to the lower temple is...
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The Great Ball Court at Chichén-Itzá
The Great Ball Court of Chichén-Itzá is 545 feet long and 225 feet...
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Upper level of the Temple of the Jaguars
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Temple of the Jaguars at Chichén-Itzá
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Ball Court at Chichén-Itzá
This is the biggest and best preserved Ball Court in all of Central...
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Aerial view of Chichén-Itzá Ball Court
Chichén-Itzá's Ball Court is the largest in Mexico. Ball Courts...
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Carving of a uniformed ball player
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Carvings along the Ball Court
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View of the Ball Court at Chichén-Itzá
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Carving on Platform of Eagles & Jaguars
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Front view of the Temple of the Jaguars
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The Tzompantli
The Tzompantli, or Platform of the Skulls, is a T-shaped platform...
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Platform of Eagles and Jaguars
The platform is located on the central plain between the Platform of...
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Platform of Eagles and Jaguars
This rectangular platform resembles that of Venus and other...
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Carving on Platform of Eagles & Jaguars
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Platform of Eagles and Jaguars
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Postcard of El Castillo
The construction of the pyramid betrays the Mayan obsession with time...
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Kukulkán Pyramid at Chichén-Itzá
The construction of the Kukulkán Pyramid at Chichén-Itzá was...
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Kukulkán Pyramid at Chichén-Itzá
In 1931, archaeologists tunneled into the base of the pyramid to see if there...
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Tumba del Gran Sacerdote
The Tomb of the High Priest, or Osario (Spanish for "Ossuary", a...
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Tumba del Gran Sacerdote
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Chichan Chob, or the Red House
"La Casa Colorada" in Spanish, this structure is a good example of...
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Chichan Chob, or the Red House
The name of this building, situated upon a high platform, is derived from the...
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El Caracol, or the Observatory
This building was named El Caracol by the explorer John Lloyd Stephens...
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The Observatory at Chichén-Itzá
The tower has four doors which open into a circular chamber, and four inner...
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Postcard view of the Observatory
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La Casa de las Monjas (The Nunnery)
So named by the Spaniards because its many chambers reminded them of a...
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La Iglesia de Chichén-Itzá
La Iglesia (Spanish for "church") is another building in the Puuc...
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The Great Pyramid of Kukulkán
Looking at it from this angle, it's easy to see how this structure is the...
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Me in front of the Kukulkán Pyramid
Hot and somewhat windblown, I was working up my courage to climb to...
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Those steps look SOOOOO steep....
and they ARE. They're not very wide either; the Mayans were not large...
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View of the Ball Court from the Pyramid
I made it!!! Glory be! Out of breath and somewhat afraid after turning around...
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Platform of Venus
The path behind the platform leads through the jungle to the Sacred...
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Me on top of the Pyramid, Chichén-Itzá
Yes, I'd managed to conquer my fear of heights (somewhat anyhow)...
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Templo de los Guerreros
The Temple of the Warriors is a colonnaded building to the northeast of El...
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Looking down the unrestored eastern face
My brother took this shot; I didn't. There was no way I was getting THAT...
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Postcard view of Chichén-Itzá
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Only a few more steps to the bottom.....
THANK GOD!!! No, I didn't walk straight down; I only managed to pose for...
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My brother, the clown
Fortunately for him, my brother doesn't share my fear of heights.
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El Castillo de Chichén-Itzá
After having conquered my fear and climbed to the top, El Castillo didn't...
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Unrestored eastern face of El Castillo
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Looking southwest on El Castillo
Standing there looking at the Pyramid, it's hard to imagine how a...
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The eastern side of the Pyramid
I thought the trees formed an interesting frame for this shot of El Castillo.
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View from Group of the Thousand Columns
The Group of the Thousand Columns is reminiscent of Egypt's Karnak. The...
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El Grupo de las Mil Columnas
As this postcard view shows, the columns continue on into the jungle;...
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Carvings on one of the many columns
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Templo de los Guerreros
Just east-north-east of the Pyramid is the Temple of the Warriors and...
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El Cenote Sagrado de Chichén-Itzá
At the end of a 300-yard ceremonial road leading from El Castillo lies the...
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The Sacred Well at Chichén-Itzá
The Cenote (say-NO-tay) of Sacrifice was reserved for rituals involving human...
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Carving of a Mayan warrior
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Carving of bird holding a human heart
Those Mayans sure could paint an attractive picture, couldn't they?
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Platform of Venus & Pyramid
The Platform of Venus is a square-shaped platform with steps on all...
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Platform of Eagles & Jaguars and Pyramid
I just thought this view was a great shot, so I had to take this picture.
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Corner of the Tzompantli
This platform was used to exhibit the bare skulls of sacrificed prisoners and...
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Close-up of skull on the Tzompantli
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Detail of skull on the Tzompantli
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The Tzompantli or Platform of the Skulls
It is presumed that ritualistic music and dancing on this platform...
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Interesting foliage at Chichén-Itzá
I just thought it was interesting how that plant was growing on the branch of...
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Temple of the Bearded Man
At the north end of the Ball Court sits this temple. Two graceful...
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Top of the Temple of the Jaguars
The upper temple was constructed A.D. 800-1050.
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I think I'll have a Pyramid for lunch...
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The winner gets the loser's head.
One of the scenes, the beheading of a player in center field witnessed by the...
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La pirámide de Kukulkán
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Another view of the Great Pyramid
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The Observatory at Chichén-Itzá
This structure is known as the Observatory due to its shape and some possible...
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View toward the Nunnery from El Caracol
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The Nunnery, or "Las Monjas"
The Nunnery, in the southern group of ruins, contains some of the best...
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Close-up detail of the Nunnery
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Close-up detail of the Nunnery
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La Iglesia de Chichén-Itzá
This small building with only one chamber owes its name to its...
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Above the entrance to La Iglesia
La Iglesia (Church) is one of the most outstanding examples of Puuc...
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La Iglesia at Chichén-Itzá
A structure separate from the Nunnery, the building known as "The...
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Ruins near the Nunnery
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House of the Deer at Chichén-Itzá
It appears that the name of this semi-collapsed building (Casa del...
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Side view of the Observatory
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Postcard view of the Observatory
El Caracol, the Observatory, was dedicated to the study of the...
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Templo de los Tableros at Chichén-Itzá
The Temple of the Panels is comprised of a temple upon a high solid...
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Houses of the Grinding Stones & Mestizas
These form a series of chambers with large interconnecting porticoes...
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Me in front of the Observatory
The Mayan observatory, El Caracol, at Chichén-Itzá was used for...
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Tomb of the Great Priest at Chichén-Itzá
Climbing on this pyramid is not permitted since it has not yet been...
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Close-up of carvings on the Tomb
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Carvings at the Tomb of the Great Priest
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Ossuary, or Tomb of the Great Priest
This pyramid is called the Ossuary and like the Pyramid of...
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El Baño de Vapor, or Steambath
This is one of the few buildings at Chichén-Itzá whose function is...
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Platform of the Tombs
This structure had a funerary use. Edward H. Thompson, who carried out...
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Site map of ruins at Chichén-Itzá
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Map of Chichén-Itzá
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Map of the site at Chichén-Itzá
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Chichén-Itzá map
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Building map of site at Chichén-Itzá
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Chichén-Itzá and the Yucatan Peninsula
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