Visit the site Maya de Chichén Itzá : tickets, prices, schedules

Are you going to Mexico? Don't miss visiting the Yucatán and the Maya site of Chichén Itzá! Here's a mini tour guide!

Who has never seen the emblematic pyramid of Mexico of Chichén Itzá? Former Maya city in Mexico, between Cancún and Mérida in Yucatán, the archaeological site of Chichén Itzá was one of the largest centers of Maya civilization, whose history spans almost a thousand years. Invaluable witness of peoples Mayas and Tolteques , it is one of the best preserved sites in Mexico. However, its chronology and the identity of the Itzá peoples are uncertain.

You wish visit the site Maya de Chichén Itzá ? Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, the Mayan city of Chichén Itzá, which attracts between 3,500 and 8,000 visitors a day, was elected as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World in 2007. Here is our mini tour guide to sublimate your stay in Mexico, and to discover all the mysteries surrounding this unique archaeological site in the world!

History of the site Maya de Chichén Itzá

The chronology of the Maya site of Chichén Itzá is debated among scientists. A first Maya city was built in the 5th century (about 415, 435 or 455) by the Itzá , or Itzaes, near two natural cavities – of cenotes , allowing to capture the water underground to irrigate the city - according to which the city would have been named "on the edge of the well of Itzaes". The Itzaes reportedly left Chichén Itzá around the year 692 and returned there in the 10th century, around the year 987. The King of Tula, Quetzalcoatl by the Aztecs and Kukulcán among the Mayans, would have managed to take the city and would have founded a second city there.

This is the migration period of Tolteque warriors, descended south from central Mexico to colonize the Yucatán. Thus the architectural styles Mayas and Tolteques merged during a huge acculturation between the two empires. The Itzaes reigned over the city for two centuries and built around 1050 the pyramid of Kukulcán to pay tribute to their "father" founder. The pyramid, a sacred religious centre of Maya civilization, is one of the most important in Mexico.

The Tolteks, winners of the Mayans, left the region around 1200 for reasons still unknown to date. Discovered by the Spanish Conquistadors in 1533, the site was once again abandoned to be recognized by the general public only in the 19th century, under the action of archaeology. Today, it is the most famous tourist site in Mexico but only 25% of the city of Chichén Itzá would have been excavated from the tropical forest.

What to see and do at Chichén Itzá?

Two sites corresponding to two distinct periods are to be visited: old Chichén south, and " New Chichén Itzá ", which includes the sacred monuments of the Mayans. The monuments of Chichén Itzá are described as masterpieces of Mesoamerican architecture, and invaluable witnesses of the ingenuity of the builders, by their proportions, the precision of the carved decorations and the refinement of the constructions. Visit the Maya website of Chichén Itzá:

• The Great Ball Game
• Kukulcán Pyramid – known as Castillo
• The heads of the "Pilent Snake"
• The Temple of Warriors
• El Caracol – Observatory –
• The Sacred Clip
• The “Tzompantli” (which is an altar of the dead, where the skulls of humans sacrificed by decapitation were filled and exposed...)

Kukulcán pyramid is located in the center and measures 30 meters high, for a base of 55 meters. The faces have a staircase of 90 steps (364 steps in total, the top of the 365th march, thus making a march per day of the year). An attraction to the spring equinox: the shadows of the walks and the sunlight reflected on the head of the feathered Serpent give the impression that the animal starts to fray outside the building.

Do not miss the Tzompantli: the temples of the Warriors and its columns, round or square and with its skulls of human sacrifices, reflect the power of the city. The Great Ball game is the largest in Mexico: it shows off-pair acoustic engineering. The hand slams from one side to the other produce 7 and 9 echoes respectively, and these figures were sacred to the Mayans. The Ball Game was a sacred rite, during which two teams competed with a rubber ball at the parties. During a 24-hour game, the leader of the losing team was decapitated by the winner. The blood was seen in the Mayans as a fertiliser for the earth: so we think that blood sacrifices were not belligerent. It was therefore an honour to have his head filled with Tzompantli, because we helped to improve future crops...

Then go to the sacred flash, 40 meters deep. Not far, the Caracol , was the Astrological Observatory of the Mayans: it allowed scientists to observe the movement of Venus and stars, which confirms the very advanced state for the time, of the knowledge of the Mayan civilization.

How do I get to Chichén Itzá?

So, okay, but how do I access the Maya site of Chichén Itzá?

First of all, know that there is no sense of visit imposed: you wander through monuments as you like, and that is rather appreciable!

During your visit, you will find a plan of the site regularly to find yourself there and to know the monuments to see: you can’t lose yourself!

To visit the Maya site of Chichén Itzá, two choices are available to you:

• By car: Take 2 hours from Merida and 3 hours from Cancún or from Playa del Carmen. The simplest is rent a car at the airport. This will give you greater freedom to move and visit Mexico.
• By bus: Direct bus lines make the Mérida-Chichén Itzá connection, due to a departure per hour. From Valladolid, the journey lasts 45 minutes, with buses every half hour.

Prices and times to visit Chichén Itzá

HORARI

The site is open Tuesday to Sunday , 8:00 to 5:00 .

We recommend visiting the Maya site of Chichén Itzá rather in the morning, when the tourist hordes have not yet landed on the site. Besides, it can be very hot.

RATES

The visit rate is 157 Mexican pesos , or 7,32 € and a federal tax of 64 pesos (2,98 €). In total, 232 pesos do so 10,81 € .

For one guided tour of Chichén Itzá in French, it will cost 750 pesos (34,95 €), 650 pesos for a Spanish visit (30,29 €).

Other guides sometimes negotiate their rates after entering the park.