Ruinas Chichén-Itzá Warnings and Dangers

I hope the lady does not mind me showing her picture like this .
I guess she knew what she was doing ,going down the Pyramid like this .
In her case she looks young and athletic.
But for most of us going down this Pyramid would be better to do it in a fashion that will be shown in my next warning of danger tip .
Like Frank Sinatra used to sing
I did it myyyyyyyyy wayyyyyyyyyy."

Running up the side of El Castillo is a silly venture but running down is sheer lunacy. Here the husband found a friend to run down with.

See all those people walking down carefully? That is how you should go down, it is a long way to the bottom should you slip and tumble down.

This tip may be moot in 2004, I heard that they were going to stop letting people walk up El Castillo in 2004 due to wear and tear.

Well, it's not really a danger. But if you have problems with height you should think twice before going up. I really don't like heights but had climbed the Sunpyramid in Teotihuacan and thought this one would be easier. But it wasn't...

It's not so bad to go up, but once you're up there it's a bit worse. It's very steep and the platform on top is not so wide. If you are seriously scared of heights you should at least have someone with you so they can help you get down again. It's a fantastic view from the top, but I didn't see so much up there. I was just wondering how the %&#(! to get down again, and thought my skeletons would be part of the pyramid in the future. But in the end I managed to get back down again...

If you are going to run up the side of the El Castillo (like in the Reebok commercial except I think that was at the ruins at Tikal), make sure you make it all the way to the top without stopping or the crowd at the bottom will groan audibly and your loving wife will report it to you so that you think you need to do it again (see next tip)

Apparently when I reported that the crowd groaned audibly when he didn't make it all the way the first time, he somehow viewed that as a challenge to do it again, this time up a different side.

But at least he had enough sense not to bite when I said that he should do all four sides :-)

In August, as you can imagine, Chichen Itza was an extremely hot place to be! So if you are visiting, especially at this time of year it would adviseable to bring plenty of sunscreen, insect repellent and we had massive golfing umbrellas to cover us from the sun - this was invaluable as there is no shade, and we took plenty of water with us.

If at all you do get the chance to climb the pyramid, be extra careful, especially climbing down - it is very dangerous. On one side there is a rope going down the middle that can help people. Don't be too proud to come down slowly on all fours!

There is very little shade at the ruins site and at midday it can be VERY hot. Be sure to wear sunscreen, especially if you are pasty white like me, bring some water to drink and if you're especially prone to sunburn not a bad idea to wear a hat.