Chichén-Itzá Things to Do

2 more images

Cenotes or sinkholes were places that the ancient Mayans got their fresh water from and they even used some as sacrificial wells for their victims! Not sure if this is what happened here in the Blue Cenote located inside the Ik Kil Eco-Archaeological Park. You'd need to descend several wide stone steps down to the water's edge where you can then swim in the fresh, blue water. It's a little cold and creepy if you think about it so don't think about it and don't try to open your eyes underwater. Just enjoy the cool water and let your troubles float away.

4 more images

Took a tour of Chichen Itza while on a Caribbean cruise .
The pictures do not do this site justice.
The remains of Chichen Itza have emerged after the cutting back the jungle that had swallowed the site for centuries.
The archaeologist have worked for many years to restore some of the site .

Spa Lovers will find Yaxkin Spa's to be a top quality Eco SPA Wellness Center dedicated to Mayan holistic healing traditions and offering indulging Mayan massages that revitalize mind, body and spirit. We loved our three day Spa rutine with lots of organic skin care treatments, pampering holistic Mayan foot massages, and full body Spa care.

Yaxkin Spa offers a variety of Mayan Spa treats, all based on ancient Mayan wisdom and purification holistic rituals. This Eco-Spa is served by Mayan healers that are both gentle and friendly in nature. I truly recommend at least one Spa experience for those that book a night to visit Chichen Itza Mayan temples. My favorite was the Sasil Tun hot-stone full body massage followed by an organic clay wrapped and delicate organic herbal oils.

Chichen Itza is famous for its big Pyramids. But this pyramids are not tombs like the big ones in Egypt, they are temples, places for sacrifices and worship.

The pyramid known as "El Castillo" is surely the place where the ceremony of the descent of Mayan God Kukulkan was held. The pyramid has a special astronomical layout so that a game of light and shadow is formed. On March 21st the body of the serpent metaphorically descends from the temple on top of the pyramid and arrives at the heads at the foot of the staircase. Excavations in the interior show that there is a smaller "Castillo" in its interior.

Also called the Well of the Sacrifices. This kind of caves you can see all over Yucatan. Rainwater washes the holes out of the ground. The caves are the main resource of fresh water in Yucatan.

The ancient people of Mexico thought this wells are sacred. Archaeologists found out, that people did not only sacrifice flowers and other things but also human beings, which they threw into the well.

There are four types of cenotes (sinkholes): completely underground, semi-underground, at land level like a lake or pond, and open wells like the one at Chichén Iztá which I was said was used to confer position to future pristesses: if the person survided to more days plunged in it, her visions were the sign she would have been a pristess...
and if you are thinking you cannot avoid "visions" in that situation, I have thought the same even if probably the Mayas would find absurd some of our traditions ;-)...

the platform of eagles and jaguars is in toltec style with four small staircases, one on each side, with serpents figureheads in the upper part and prostrate figures, eagles and juaguars on the panels. it was probably used for religious or ceremonial purposes and dates approximately somethig between 900 and 1200 A.D.

when I was planning my trip to Mexico and I read about the football ground on another VT page in my ignorance I asked myself if the person was making fun but no, for the Mayas the juego de pelota was famous too...

I would sugggest not only the climb of the outside of the Kukulcán pyramid but also that of its inside, only be prepared to a humidity like in a sauna.
but as an old mexican lady was explaining to her nieces and I was so lucky to be there at her same time, the purpose was to purify the body with aromatic herbs spreaded by this damp and prepare the person, seated on this Chac-Mool, to be made pregnant.

Chichen Itza could be called the Mayan ruins par excellance... you cannot avoid it whenever you are spoken of Mayan ruins and I have even seen a pic of them used in a TV programme speaking of pyramids but... on the Samoa islands ;-)...

the name Chichén Itza comes from the Mayas language and means: "chi" - mouth, opening, "chen" - well, and "itza" is the name of this region.

this site is divided into three areas: the north part, definitely "tolteca", the central part, of the period "temprano" and the part known as old Chichén.