Chichen Itza is the most visited ruin in Mexico and for good reason — El Castillo (the Kukulkan Pyramid) is stunning, the ball court is the largest in Mesoamerica, and the site covers the full arc of Maya civilization from Classical to Post-Classical periods. The trade-off is crowds. Tour buses from Cancun start arriving by 10am and the site gets packed by noon.
The Main Structures
El Castillo dominates the site. The pyramid has 91 steps on each of its four sides, plus the platform on top — 365 total, one for each day of the year. During the spring and fall equinoxes, the shadow on the north staircase creates a serpent pattern slithering down the steps. The equinox event draws huge crowds and is worth seeing once.
The Great Ball Court is massive — 166 meters long, with 8-meter-high walls. Carved panels show players being decapitated. The acoustics are strange — you can whisper at one end and be heard clearly at the other, 166 meters away.
The Cenote Sagrado (Sacred Cenote) is a natural sinkhole about 60 meters across where the Maya made offerings. Dredging projects recovered gold, jade, pottery and human bones from the bottom.
Equinox Events
The spring equinox (March 20-21) is the big one. Tens of thousands of people come to watch the serpent shadow descend the pyramid. The effect actually works for several days on either side of the equinox — so if you show up on March 18 or 23 you can see basically the same thing with a fraction of the crowd.
Getting There
Chichen Itza sits between Merida and Cancun. ADO buses run from both cities — about 2 hours from Merida, 2.5 from Cancun. The town of Valladolid is closer (45 minutes by bus) and makes a better base than either big city. Valladolid is a colonial town with its own cenotes, decent restaurants and hotels at a fraction of Cancun prices.
Entry fee is around 600 pesos (a combined federal and state fee that went up sharply in recent years). Get there when the gates open at 8am to beat the tour bus crowds.
Toltec Influence
The architectural style at Chichen Itza mixes Maya and Toltec elements. The warriors depicted at the Temple of the Warriors, the chac-mool figures, and the feathered serpent motifs all show Central Mexican influence. How this happened — trade, conquest, migration — is still debated by archaeologists.