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- El Castillo (Temple of Kukulkan): The 30-meter stepped pyramid is the image everyone searches for. Four staircases face the cardinal directions, and serpent heads sit at the base of the north stairs. Clap in front of it and the echo returns as a bird-like chirp that guides link to the quetzal. Climbing has been banned since the mid-2000s, so views are from the plaza.
- Great Ball Court: At roughly 168 meters long, this is the largest known ball court in Mesoamerica. Stone rings are set high on the side walls, and carved panels show players and a beheaded figure. A whisper at one end carries remarkably far along the walls.
- Temple of the Warriors and Group of a Thousand Columns: Rows of square and round pillars carved with warrior figures lead up to a temple topped by a reclining Chac Mool figure.
- El Castillo (Temple of Kukulkan): The 30-meter stepped pyramid is the image everyone searches for. Four staircases face the cardinal directions, and serpent heads sit at the base of the north stairs. Clap in front of it and the echo returns as a bird-like chirp that guides link to the quetzal. Climbing has been banned since the mid-2000s, so views are from the plaza.
- Great Ball Court: At roughly 168 meters long, this is the largest known ball court in Mesoamerica. Stone rings are set high on the side walls, and carved panels show players and a beheaded figure. A whisper at one end carries remarkably far along the walls.
- Temple of the Warriors and Group of a Thousand Columns: Rows of square and round pillars carved with warrior figures lead up to a temple topped by a reclining Chac Mool figure. The colonnades once held a roof, and the scale gives a sense of how a market or assembly hall might have worked.
- Sacred Cenote: A natural sinkhole about a ten-minute walk north along a stone causeway. Divers have recovered jade, gold, pottery and human remains from the water, which supports the idea that offerings were made here during drought.
- El Caracol: This round observatory has a spiral staircase inside, which is where it gets its snail name. Narrow window slits line up with the movements of Venus and with equinox sunsets, so the Maya used it for tracking the heavens.
- Tzompantli (Platform of Skulls): A low platform whose walls are carved with rows of skulls on racks. It is small and easy to walk past, but it shows the darker ritual side of the city better than any plaque does.
- Las Monjas and the Old Chichen group: This southern group is older and in the Puuc style, with intricate stone latticework and the Akab Dzib building. Fewer people come this far, so you can look at the carvings without a crowd.
- Temple of the Jaguars and Shields: Set beside the ball court, its upper chamber has faded murals of battle scenes, and jaguar figures decorate the facade. It is one of the better places to see painted detail.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve backpacked through 90+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.