Kabah Travel Guide

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The biggest draw at Kabah is El Palacio de los Mascarones, or Palace of the Masks. As you approach, the wall appears to be covered in jagged carvings with lots of round stones; after looking more closely you realize that the jags are mouths and the round stones are eyes. There's a spot for the nose under the eyes, although most of the long, curled noses have broken off. A few remain on one corner of the building. These masks, which are of the rain god Chac, total to nearly 300. The worship of Chac that can be seen here and in other Maya sites is evidence of how important rain was to this relatively dry region.

You can walk up the steps to get a good view of the masks, then go around back to see the two atlantes figures. They're unusual in that there are few human statues found at Maya sites. The figure on the left is intact with a jaguar atop his head, the other atlas is headless.
Some nice carvings are also visible near the atlantes.

The impressive building at Kabah is CODZ POOP (Palace of Masks) - almost 300 masks of Chac (the rain god or sky serpent).

Beyond Codz Poop is a small pyramid and EL PALACIO which has traditional Puuc architecture. A path then leads around El Palacio and into the jungle to TERCERA CASA (Temple of Columns).

If you cross the highway to the west of El Palacio you will get to a unimpressive pile of stones, oncwe GRAN TEOCALLI (Great temple) and some other complex buildings - none are as impressive of what you've already seen and at this point, fatigued by the devilishly hot sun, we gave up our exploration of this site and headed on to Sayil (the next stop on teh Puuc Route)!

The site is open daily from 8am - 5pm and there is a tiny fee, in 1999 it was US$2, unless you visit on a Sunday when entrance is free. At the time there were no facilities so ensure you are stocked up with water.

Ideally you need a car. In 1999 tours were possible to arrange in Merida but they did not visit Kabah or Uxmal. Obviously that is a long time ago so it's worth a littel investigation but I cannot emphasis enough how nice it was to have a car to do these sites (Puuc Route) at our own leisure). The only company we had at Kabah were the vultures, scorpions, iguanas and turrantulas (tip the bathroom is the jungle - be careful where you choose to go!)

On the east side of El Palacio are two restored atlantes (two male figures used as a support column). These are unusual because Mayan statues don’t portray human figures. One figure has wearing a jaguar mask while the other is sporting no head at all. These figures are very intricately carved and are surrounded by carved geometric designs.

Kabah’s El Palacio de los Mascarones (Palace of Masks) is a unusual wall with three rows of about 300 chac masks staring at you. Most of the curvy noses protrude about foot from the wall. The south end of the building has the best masks with unbroken noses. You must climb up to the second level of El Palacio to see the masks on the west side.

Cost $2 US, Free on Sundays

Undoubtedly the most impressive building in Kabah is the Palace of Masks, or Codz Poop, set on its own high terrace. It's an amazing sight, with its façade covered in nearly 300 masks of Chac, the rain god or sky serpent.

You can see Sayil, Xlapak, Labna, Kabah and then finally Uxmal by bus. From the Merida's Terminal de Segunda Clase, you can buy your round trip ticket that goes to Sayil as well as many other Ruta Puuc sites like Xlapack, Labna, Kabah and Uxmal. Buy a day in advance.

The bus will first go to Uxmal and drop off those going there directly. Stay on and go to the smaller sites. It will come back to Uxmal and pick you up again a few hours later.

You only have to pay the cost of the bus ticket. If you are in Merida on a Sunday I highly recommend taking advantage of this.