Bonampak Mayan Ruin Site Chiapas, Mexico
Murals and Standing Stones
Murals and Standing Stones
Bonampak Ruin Site view from the complex called the Acropolis
Bonampak, an ancient
Mayan city, was at its
height from 600AD to 1000
AD.
Noted for its mural wall
paintings in vivid colors that
depict event before and after a
battle and for its large stele, the
largest in Mexico, Bonampak
can be reached in about three
hours via collective taxi or tour
bus out of the town of Palenque.
Mayan city, was at its
height from 600AD to 1000
AD.
Noted for its mural wall
paintings in vivid colors that
depict event before and after a
battle and for its large stele, the
largest in Mexico, Bonampak
can be reached in about three
hours via collective taxi or tour
bus out of the town of Palenque.
Hotel, Posada: La Canada $25 night USD Bus: ADO Station in Palenque Camping: Maya Bell RV
and Camping Park Phone: 011-52- 916-345-0798
and Camping Park Phone: 011-52- 916-345-0798
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At one time the buildings were
coated in stucco and painted as the
remnants of red paint show
coated in stucco and painted as the
remnants of red paint show
Each small building at the top of the Acropolis houses
a sandstone column
a sandstone column
An abandoned airplane at the
end of a grass runway at
Bonampak Ruin Site.
end of a grass runway at
Bonampak Ruin Site.
View form the top of the
Acropolis
Acropolis
Bonampak was built in 600 AD near the Usamacinta River and the border with Guatemala in Mexico's
southern most State of Chiapas.
Bonampak was once an important Mayan political center allied with nearby Yaxchilan. The Mayan
inhabitants abandoned the city around 1000 AD.
From the city of Palenque, collectivos and tour buses make the two and a half hour trip to Bonampak and
Yaxchilan. Tours also leave Palenque and follow a different road for the cascades of Agua Azule and for
San Cristobal de las Casas.
To visit Bonampak Ruin Site: For Independent Travelers: Catch the White collective taxis (no
frills vans) for 60 pesos that make runs to the Frontera about every hour starting at 5 am. You will meet the
local folks as they pick up and drop off passengers and cargo all along the way.
Stop at the crossroads for Bonampak where another cab stand will have trips for the additional 14 miles on
a dirt road to the site. Could be $70 pesos round trip. Look for the man with the red VW.
To continue beyond Bonampak and enter the Frontera, have 15 Pesos additional.
Have lots of small change; no one will have change to break anything over a twenty peso bill. Inquire first
before taking a taxi or collectivo; prices vary greatly. Have lots of water.
This road runs parallel to the Usamacinta River, a frontier along the Guatemalan border that until 1990 did
not have a road. The local people have been in an uneasy truce with the government for several years after a
revolution centered in San Cristobal de las Casas that simmered down about eight years go. These
isolated people are not used to strangers and can seem unfriendly. If you are not comfortable travelling
independently, ( Know some Spanish, know the money, can tolerate high temperatures and high humidity, ,
have lots of water) go as part of a group tour out of Palenque.
Two outfits run the no frills collectivos from the town of Palenque to the Frontera, Chambalu and Chamoan.
A terminal is located near the Cabeza Maya sculpture on the road to the Palenque Ruin , just down the hill
and to the right side of the road you can find their terminal. Inquire at the tourist center on Avenue Juarez at
the Plaza of Artisans.
Transportes Chamoan has an office nearby on Ave Miguel Hidalgo.
Most of the collectivos round the Cabeza Maya, a handy place to catch a ride to the ruins. They also stop at
the gas station just after the monument Madre Chol on the road to Agua Azule.
Tour agencies located in the town of Palenque also run trips that are guided.
Immigration authorities are active on the road, best to have a passport and copy of your Mexican visa.
Campgrounds, hotels, and posadas are plentiful in Palenque along the road to Palenque ruins. The town of
85,000 has plentiful bus service with an ADO terminal on the main street and several others nearby.
Campgrounds, inns, posadas, and plush hotels are available on the entrance road to the archaeological site.
southern most State of Chiapas.
Bonampak was once an important Mayan political center allied with nearby Yaxchilan. The Mayan
inhabitants abandoned the city around 1000 AD.
From the city of Palenque, collectivos and tour buses make the two and a half hour trip to Bonampak and
Yaxchilan. Tours also leave Palenque and follow a different road for the cascades of Agua Azule and for
San Cristobal de las Casas.
To visit Bonampak Ruin Site: For Independent Travelers: Catch the White collective taxis (no
frills vans) for 60 pesos that make runs to the Frontera about every hour starting at 5 am. You will meet the
local folks as they pick up and drop off passengers and cargo all along the way.
Stop at the crossroads for Bonampak where another cab stand will have trips for the additional 14 miles on
a dirt road to the site. Could be $70 pesos round trip. Look for the man with the red VW.
To continue beyond Bonampak and enter the Frontera, have 15 Pesos additional.
Have lots of small change; no one will have change to break anything over a twenty peso bill. Inquire first
before taking a taxi or collectivo; prices vary greatly. Have lots of water.
This road runs parallel to the Usamacinta River, a frontier along the Guatemalan border that until 1990 did
not have a road. The local people have been in an uneasy truce with the government for several years after a
revolution centered in San Cristobal de las Casas that simmered down about eight years go. These
isolated people are not used to strangers and can seem unfriendly. If you are not comfortable travelling
independently, ( Know some Spanish, know the money, can tolerate high temperatures and high humidity, ,
have lots of water) go as part of a group tour out of Palenque.
Two outfits run the no frills collectivos from the town of Palenque to the Frontera, Chambalu and Chamoan.
A terminal is located near the Cabeza Maya sculpture on the road to the Palenque Ruin , just down the hill
and to the right side of the road you can find their terminal. Inquire at the tourist center on Avenue Juarez at
the Plaza of Artisans.
Transportes Chamoan has an office nearby on Ave Miguel Hidalgo.
Most of the collectivos round the Cabeza Maya, a handy place to catch a ride to the ruins. They also stop at
the gas station just after the monument Madre Chol on the road to Agua Azule.
Tour agencies located in the town of Palenque also run trips that are guided.
Immigration authorities are active on the road, best to have a passport and copy of your Mexican visa.
Campgrounds, hotels, and posadas are plentiful in Palenque along the road to Palenque ruins. The town of
85,000 has plentiful bus service with an ADO terminal on the main street and several others nearby.
Campgrounds, inns, posadas, and plush hotels are available on the entrance road to the archaeological site.
Bonampak is most noted for its
murals depicting a battle and later
torture of prisoners.
Bonampak's other striking feature is
the many carved stones, one, the
largest stele in Mexico.
These appear to pay homage to the
rulers of Bonampak and most
significantly to the ruler in power at the
time of the battle depicted in the
murals, Chaan Muan II..
Most notable of the stones perhaps is
Stele 2 pictured at the left which shows
the Emperor of Bonampak, Chaan
Muan II who ruled from 772 to 792 AD.
He is shown accompanied by two
women.
He is depicted with his wife, the sister
of the ruler of nearby Yaxchilan, and
by his mother as they carry out a blood
letting ritual, his mother standing in
front of him holds a devil fish spine to
perform the piercing, his wife standing
behind, holds the vessel that will
receive the blood for later ritual
burning.
murals depicting a battle and later
torture of prisoners.
Bonampak's other striking feature is
the many carved stones, one, the
largest stele in Mexico.
These appear to pay homage to the
rulers of Bonampak and most
significantly to the ruler in power at the
time of the battle depicted in the
murals, Chaan Muan II..
Most notable of the stones perhaps is
Stele 2 pictured at the left which shows
the Emperor of Bonampak, Chaan
Muan II who ruled from 772 to 792 AD.
He is shown accompanied by two
women.
He is depicted with his wife, the sister
of the ruler of nearby Yaxchilan, and
by his mother as they carry out a blood
letting ritual, his mother standing in
front of him holds a devil fish spine to
perform the piercing, his wife standing
behind, holds the vessel that will
receive the blood for later ritual
burning.
The carved stones are placed throughout the site, several on the
Acropolis and others on the main plaza of what was the ritual center
of a much larger city, most still cover by the thick jungle along the
Frontera and the watershed of the Usamacinta River.
Acropolis and others on the main plaza of what was the ritual center
of a much larger city, most still cover by the thick jungle along the
Frontera and the watershed of the Usamacinta River.
The largest standing stone in Mexico,
Stele One, was carved in honor of the
ruler Chaan Muan II during his reign:
772 to 792 AD.
At a height of nearly 20 feet, the stone
is the tallest such sculpture found to
date in Mexico.
The stone occupies a central position
in Bonampak's main plaza, now held
in place by steel cables.
Chaan Muan II is the ruler who is
depicted in the murals at Bonampak
and is also depicted in the stele
above with his wife, the sister of the
ruler of the allied city of Yaxchilan, a
ruin on the banks of the Usamacinta
River at the border with present day
Guatemala.
Stele One, was carved in honor of the
ruler Chaan Muan II during his reign:
772 to 792 AD.
At a height of nearly 20 feet, the stone
is the tallest such sculpture found to
date in Mexico.
The stone occupies a central position
in Bonampak's main plaza, now held
in place by steel cables.
Chaan Muan II is the ruler who is
depicted in the murals at Bonampak
and is also depicted in the stele
above with his wife, the sister of the
ruler of the allied city of Yaxchilan, a
ruin on the banks of the Usamacinta
River at the border with present day
Guatemala.
The emblem glyph of Bonampak
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