Chichen Itza Is Absolutely The Best Ruins In Mexico To Visit.

The Land Of The Ancient Maya

Have you ever dreamed about visiting the best ruins in Mexico? Maya had constructed this magnificent city around 600 AD. What is left of the Ancient Maya civilization is remarkable. It is hard to imagine that this ancient city was built by primitive tools. The massive structures hanging over the tree line would make Shaquille O’neal feel tiny compared to their outrageous size. It is now possible to visit the best ruins in Mexico through our blog!

Read on to experiance the best ruins in Mexico!

Distant view of Kukulcan EL Castillo hanging over the tree line.

Some mysteries of Maya have not been solved, but they did not happen to be as primitive as many would assume. Their understanding of building advanced architecture was not their only skill asset. The Maya had studied and understood astronomy in great detail. The alignment of the Sun, Moon, and planets was very important to the Maya. The solar system was incorporated into their culture, along with the design of the architecture. These weren’t just any ruins we visited, they were the best ruins in Mexico!

Departure To The Best Ruins In Mexico

Chichen Itza is located in southeastern Mexico. When booking the trip, we didn’t plan for a relaxing day. The schedule consisted of commuting three and a half hours one way, taking us far from any nearby beach.

It was a brisk morning on the day of our trip. Frantically rushing to our Sunwing Tour bus, nearly missing our much anticipated departure. Equipped with freshly brewed coffees and baked croissants, we started the day ready to experience something spectacular. Excitement energized us while we endured our painful trip to the land of ancient Maya. We couldn’t be more prepared!

Infinity pool in the morning at our resort Now Jade, Riviera Maya.

Ancient Maya Expedition

Upon reaching the destination, we were complimented with a heatwave of 40 degree celsius. With a limited supply of shade and water, we ventured off into the ancient city. The markets selling merchandise stood out while we walked through Chichen Itza. Countless kiosk’s scattered across Chichen Itza displayed artistic and complex crafts. The merchandise was mainly made from cedar wood, fish bone, and obsidian stone. 

Distant view of the Maya market at the entrance of Chichen Itza.

What Is Obsidian?

Obsidian is an exotic stone that is believed to take away all the negative energy around it. Obsidian is made into hot stones, jewelry, centre pieces, and other sorts of decorations. Obsidian is hard, dark and glasslike. The formation of obsidian is volcanic lava and rapid solidification without crystallization. 

Maya calendar made out of cedar on display at Maya kiosk in Chichen Itza.

The Ball Court Was The Ancient Maya Sport Stadium

The Ball Court was our next stop on the tour. The Maya built this stadium “The Ball Court” to play their game of Mesoamerican Ballgame. The walls were too high to climb over, reaching up to the tree lines. The large pieces of rock were perfectly assembled into a solid rock wall.

Mesoamerican Maya Ballgame Court. 

The Objective To Playing Mesoamerican Ballgame

They used one four kilogram rubber ball, two small hoops, located at the top of the walls at either ends of the court. Players had to use advanced techniques to get the rubber ball into the opponents small hoop with their hips. This was achieved without using their hands much similar to soccer. 

Ballgame Included Maya Human Sacrificing

In the Maya culture, human sacrificing was a part of the Mesoamerican Ballgame. Not just anyone would participate in the sacrifice, only the captain of the winning team would be honoured. The captain would be decapitated and his head would be buried. Once the captains head was buried, it was believed that they could reach the underworld. This would bypass their thirteen strenuous religious steps to the underworld.

The Underworld was where they believed “heaven” would be reached. This is where everyone hoped to go after death. 

Burial site where the Captains’ head’s were honoured.

The Ball Court Acoustic Design

The voices of players and their captain traveled from one end of the court to the other. The architecture of the court created perfect and clear sound acoustics without needing to speak very loud. This was important so that the captains playing could hear each other while sitting in their thrones. The design to reproduce the acoustics has not yet been understood to this day.

They say that the Stadium “The Ball Court” was bigger then two American Football fields. 

Temple Of The Warriors

Upon approaching the Temple of The Warriors, you notice the temple is built with a more complex design. The temple has signs of a previous roof structure that is missing due to nature taking its toll on it. Sacrificial offerings to the Gods are given at the Chacmool, which is located at the top of the temple.

Maya Chacmool at Chichen Itza in Mexico.

Chacmools symbolize slain warriors. Maya could carry sacrificial offerings to the Gods here.

Easy mobility in the temple allowed the Maya to host large government gatherings in the Chichen Itza Area. The Maya didn’t follow one government, but they would follow one of many different governments. 

Front view of Temple Of The Warriors. 

Kukulcan EL Castillo Maya Pyramid

Kukulcan EL Castillo is exposed when you turn to your right from the Temple of The Warriors. The grand size of this masterpiece is chilling. The pyramid is thirty meters high, fifty-five meters wide. The ancient Maya pyramid was built in 600 AD and still looks good for its age. Sadly mother nature has destroyed some of its flawless designs. Thankfully what has been ruined is only cosmetic damage and majority of its importance is still intact.

The best ruins in Mexico. Distant view of Kukulcan EL Castillo and Temple Of The Warriors.

One great fact about Kukulcan EL Castillo is that there is another pyramid underneath it. Kukulcan EL Castillo is built on top of an old pyramid. The design of the old pyramid is much more simple and smaller in size. In recent years, a doorway was cut into Kukulcan EL Castillo to better reach the old pyramid. Small enough to fit through, allowing you to roam inside the pyramid walls. The pyramid inside has been untouched for hundreds of years. This allowed more correct data about the Ancient Maya to be produced. In order to preserve the pyramids authenticity, no one is allowed to climb or go inside anymore.

Kukulcan EL Castillo Pyramid Acoustic Design

Kukulcan EL Castillo has a similar acoustic design compared to The Ball Court. When standing at the bottom of the enormous staircase, clapping your hands together will precisely imitate a bird chirp. The Maya were reproducing the chirp of a Native Quetzal. The Quetzal was a very important bird to the Maya and they valued their green tail feathers. Some say the feathers were worth more then gold.

Ancient Maya Expedition Was Coming To An End

Leaving Chichen Itza after a long day was refreshing, to say the least. We were grateful to leave after experiencing roaring temperatures of over 40 degrees celsius with the humidity, but we left with an experience that will never be forgotten. If your thinking about visiting the best ruins in Mexico, don’t hesitate. Visiting Chichen Itza really offered a lot about Maya civilization. We do recommend a guide if you are planning on going. With a guide you’ll be brought up to speed about Maya history and then you get to wander around by yourself in the ancient city afterwards. 

Robert Wielomski and Courtney Moonen posing in front of Kukulcan EL Castillo.

Cooling Off In The Sacred Cenote

To end the day, we went for a swim in The Sacred Cenote. It was a very short trip from Chichen Itza to the Cenote. For us to reach the water, we had to take a 140 step, wet staircase down into the Cenote. It was like we were hiking down a steep slippery hill. After toasting like lobsters in the sun, it was wonderful for us to finally shake off the heat. The deep blue water was crystal clear, and cooler then the ocean beach. For adrenalin junkies, there are multiple level platforms where you could jump off!

Rinsing off before going into the Cenote was important because of the wildlife. The Cenote is a pool of self sustained freshwater, and any harmful chemicals could potentially harm the wildlife. While swimming in the Cenote, small fish were nibbling our toes. The Cenote was beautiful and it was outstanding to see that it is maintained well. It was fully guarded to protect what is left of it.

Leaving the resort at 7:00am and not returning until around 8:00pm, we were absolutely exhausted. Thirteen hours traveling wasn’t what we expected on our vacation, but it was the best ruins in mexico we had to visit. We do not regret our decision. Not sure when we will return to that part of Mexico, therefore it was great to fulfill our curiosity. 

Art carvings in stone at Chichen Itza.

Mexico was a lovely experience in general, read about our experience at Now Jade Resort where we stayed on this trip. 

Full picture album of Chichen Itza located on the photography page.

Information can be found at Sunwing about the Chichen Itza tour.

Let us know in the comments below if you thought Chichen Itza was the best ruins in Mexico to visit. 

Recent Blog Posts

Recent Album Posts