5 Essential Tips for Visiting Chichén Itzá

Promoted as the “Egypt of the New World”, tourists seeking an “exotic” holiday have been visiting Chichén Itzá since the 1890s. Today, it is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico. A global survey voted it as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. Undoubtedbly, Chichén Itzá is an icon that inspires national pride. Many would argue that no Mexico trip itinerary is complete without it. Before planning your visit, here are 5 essential Chichén Itzá travel tips, as well as some fun facts.

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<3 Dominique

What is Chichén Itzá?

As mentioned above, Chichén Itzá is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico. Once upon a time, it was a very important city for the Mayans. Between 750 to 1200 A.D., it served as a political and economic centre of the Mayan civilization.

The Mayas settled in the area encompassing Guatemala, Belize, southeastern Mexico, and western parts of Honduras and El Salvador. Unlike the Aztecs and Incas, the Mayan political system never integrated the entire Maya cultural area into a single state or empire. So while Mayan ruins could be found throughout the countries listed above, each one exemplifies different types of Mayan architecture.

The Mayas were a sophisticated civilization who are noted for their architecture. In addition, they are also known for their logosyllabic script (the most sophisticated writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas), art, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system.

Fun fact: the Mayan civilization discovered the concept of zero.

Why is Chichén Itzá considered a World Wonder?

Chichén Itzá, one of the world’s largest and best-preserved archaeological sites, became a finalist in the international vote to determine the New Seven Wonders of the World. The new World Wonders were to reflect a global picture of ancient humanity’s most notable structures. In 2007, people cast 100 million votes, and they selected Chichén Itzá as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World!

With its stepped pyramids, temples, columned arcades, and masonry, Chichén Itzá exemplifies the Mayas’ highly developed knowledge of architecture. The ancient city of Chichén Itzá features a well-planned design and layout. In fact, the city aligns with astronomical events such as the spring and autumn equinoxes and the path of Venus in the heavens.

Though not officially part of my list of essential Chichén Itzá travel tips, here is some context on the notable structures you will see on site…

El Castillo

This is probably the most iconic building in Chichén Itzá. The Spanish conquistadors called it El Castillo (translates to “The Castle”) but it is also referred to as the Temple of Kukulkan. It is believed that this structure was a temple dedicated to the Mayan god, Kukulkan. Kukulkan takes the form of a feathered serpent. His likeness can be found throughout Chichén Itzá.

El Castillo is a testament to the Mayan’s advanced knowledge of architecture and astronomy. The step pyramid has 91 steps on each of its four sides. If you add up the number of steps on each side plus the final step at the top of the temple, you get the total number of days in the Mayan calendar. This number (which is 365) also coincides with the number of days it takes for the Earth to complete its rotation around the Sun.

Fun fact: if you clap at the base of El Castillo the echo resembles the chirp of a quetzal bird. Incidentally (or maybe not), the quetzal was closely associated to Kukulkan by the Mayans.

The Mayans also exemplified that they can predict when the spring and autumn equinoxes were to occur via El Castillo. Every spring and autumn equinox, shadows fall on El Castillo in such a way that they look like the plumes of a serpent. During the sunset, these shadow plumes perfectly align with the serpent heads on the northwest side of the pyramid making it look like a feathered serpent is slithering down the pyramid. This phenomena attracts thousands of visitors to El Castillo during the equinoxes.

The Great Ballcourt

People living in Mesoamerica during the pre-Columbian era held the Mesoamerican ballgame as ritual events. According to a common theory about how the game was played, players from two opposing teams used their hips to hit a small, rubber ball, with the objective of keeping the ball in play. The actual rules are not fully known today. Some cultures (like that of the one in Chichén Itzá) seem to have combined ballgame competitions with religious human sacrifice.

There are 13 different ball courts at Chichén Itzá alone but the Great Ballcourt is the most impressive. Measured at 168 by 70 meters (or 551 by 230 ft) it is the largest and best preserved of all the ballcourts in Mesoamerica. Sculpted panels near the players’ benches depict the captain of the winning team getting decapitated; where his head was severed streams of blood are emitted in the form of wriggling snakes. According to our guide, the Mayas viewed death for their gods to be an honour and that is why the winning captain is sacrificed over the losing captain.

Mexicans in general regard death as a natural part of life and should be celebrated as evidenced by their Día de Muertos holiday.

Related: The Top 5 Things to Know About Day of the Dead in Mixquic, Mexico

The acoustics in the Great Ballcourt are amazing. While it is open air, if you clap on one end you will produce nine echoes back for every clap on the opposite end. There is also a whispering gallery that allows voice communication between temples located about 460 feet (140 m) apart!

El Caracol

El Caracol is Spanish for “The Snail”. This is what the round building on a large square platform has been unofficially called. The name comes from the stone spiral staircase that can be found inside the building. Scholars believe that this building functioned as a proto-observatory, with its doors and windows aligned to the movement of the planets and stars, particularly around the path of Venus.

5 Essential Chichén Itzá Travel Tips

Are you currently planning your visit? Here are 5 essential Chichén Itzá travel tips to keep in mind:

How To Get There…

For those who are flying in from a different country, I recommend booking a flight to Mérida or Cancún. Chichén Itzá is a 2 hour drive and 2 and half hour drive from each airport, respectively. You can rent a car from the airport (parking will be 30 MXN at Chichén Itzá), take public transportation or book a tour from Cancún/Cozumel/Playa del Carmen to Chichén Itzá.

Tips for those driving to Chichén Itzá: if you’re driving, you have a choice of taking the tolled highway (the 180 cuota) or the free highway (the 180 libre).

I took the free highway from Cancún to Chichén Itzá because I didn’t want to exchange my USD for MXN at the airport. The free highway will take you through small towns, giving a glimpse of the everyday lives of the locals. You will also come across MANY speed bumps that you should pay attention to or face serious damage to your rental car. There are many police checkpoints on the free highway which I passed through with no issues. A guy in a reflective vest did persuade me to pull over though; I made eye contact with him, he signalled me towards the shoulder, and I obeyed. He was trying to sell me excursion packages to Chichén Itzá and a cenote of my choice. He was very persistent which made driving away a little awkward.

My two cents: do not stop for anyone but the police. That seems like common sense advice, but reflective vest guy completely threw me off my game… The free highway is less maintained and narrower so you probably don’t want to travel long distances after dark. It took a little over three hours for me to reach Chichén Itzá.

I took the tolled highway from Chichén Itzá back to Cancún to return the car and get back to the airport. The roads were better maintained, the speed limit was higher, there were no speed bumps (to my memory) and I only remember a couple of military checkpoints. The car passed through two toll booths. The first booth near where I entered the 180 cuota charged around 80 MXN (I don’t remember the exact amount but it was under 100). The toll booths only accept the local currency. A second toll booth closer to the Cancún exit charged around 360 MXN. I recommend bringing at least 500 MXN if you’re travelling (one way) on the 180 cuota. This amount varies if you’re coming to or from Mérida.

Whether you choose to take the free highway or the tolled highway, make sure to gas up! Gas stations are few and far in between on both highways.

Best Times to Visit…

The Yucatán peninsula has a tropical climate, with a rainy and muggy season from June to October, a relatively cool season from November to February, and a hot season from March to May.

The archeological site is open daily from 8:00am to 5:00pm all year round. Alternatively, if you stay at the Hacienda Chichén or the Mayaland Hotel, you can pay for a sunrise tour of the ruins with a guide as these historic hotels have special access to the ruins.

As one of the most visited archaeological sites in the country, Chichén Itzá can get SUPER hectic. The best times to visit when not doing a sunrise tour: 8:00am right when the gates open to the public OR 3:00pm when the tour busses from the resorts start to clear out and golden hour is about to start.

Bring cash!

Entrance fees to the archeological site are around 240 MXN for foreign visitors. I recommend bringing cash. I believe they only accept the local currency.

Get a Guide!

It is also worthwhile to get a guide to show you around. Without one, I would have been wandering the grounds aimlessly and not have a full appreciation of the history of some of the structures. There are historical plaques, sure. But these plaques can only be found on some of the buildings. Guides can be booked at the entrance when you buy your ticket.

If you have a short attention span like me, I highly recommend doing some light reading about Chichén Itzá before your visit. This helped me follow with what the guide was saying… That’s just a personal preference though. And if you’ve made it this far in my post, you’ve already pretty much done some homework 🙂.

What to bring…

I recommend dressing properly for your Chichén Itzá excursion. Tours last about 2 hours on average so you would want to be comfortable.

I recommend bringing the following:

• sunscreen
• hat
• sunglasses
• water bottle
• comfortable shoes
• insect repellent
• cash
• camera

Are there more Chichén Itzá travel tips or fun facts that I am missing in this post? Did you have any questions about visiting this World Wonder? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below…