June 2022. Although I have been in Mexico before, the last time was in 1994-1995. Twenty-seven years later, Oriol and I are doing a classic tour of the United Mexican States, featuring Mexico City (CDMX); Palenque in Chiapas; Villahermosa in Tabasco; Uxmal, Mérida, Chichen Itza, Ek’ Balam, Valladolid,  and a few cenotes (waterholes) in Yucatán and Tulum in Quintana Roo. We returned via Cancún to CDMX and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The archeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán State.

Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the Northern Maya Lowlands from the Late Classic (AD 600–900) through the Terminal Classic (AD 800–900) and into the early portion of the Postclassic period (AD 900–1200). 

The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico and of the Puuc and Chenes styles of the Northern Maya lowlands. The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion.

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Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities, or Tollans, referred to in later Mesoamerican literature.

The city may have had the most diverse population in the Maya world, a factor that could have contributed to the variety of architectural styles at the site.

The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia or National Institute of Anthropology and History. Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico.

Chichen Itza means ‘At the mouth of the well of the Itza’.

Main feautures

• Temple of Kukulcán (El Castillo).
• Great Ball Court.
• Tzompantli or Skull Platform (Plataforma de los Cráneos).
• Platform of the Eagles and the Jaguars (Plataforma de Águilas y Jaguares).
• Platform of Venus, dedicated to the planet, not the Roman goddess.
• Temple of the Tables.
• Steam Bath.
• Sacbe Number One.
• Sacred Cenote.
• Temple of the Warriors.
• Group of a Thousand Columns.
• El Mercado.
• Osario Group with the High Priests’ Temple, the Temple of Xtoloc, the Platform of Venus and the Platform of the Tombs, the House of the Metates and the House of the Mestizas.
• Casa Colorada and Casa del Venado.
• Las Monjas, El Caracol, Akad Dzib. 
• Old Chichen.

A visit

We booked an excursion with Premier Adventures Destination Tours to get to from Valladolid to Chichen Itza. Our driver Ivan and the mysterious Alejandro drove is to the site. There guide Ranjel provided us with all the explainationis we needed. What Akejandro’s part was, is unclear. He looked like a Russian minder. 

Although expensive, this guided tour was plus. It made us avoid lines and we got expertise. 

Go early, as Chichen Itza is very popular. Also, these sites get very warm.

Mexico 2022

1. REVIEW | KLM Amsterdam Schiphol to Mexico City on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in economy.
2. MEXICO CITY | Zócalo.
3. MEXICO CITY | Templo Mayor.
4. REVIEW | Hotel Carlota in Mexico City.
5. MEXICO | Teotihuacan.
6. MEXICO CITY | National Museum of Anthropology or Museo Nacional de Antropología.
7. FORMULA 1 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
8. MEXICO CITY | Museo Nacional de Historia at Castillo de Chapultepec.
9. MEXICO CITY | Frida Kahlo Museum.
10. MEXICO CITY | Coyoacán.
11. Mexico City 2022.
12. REVIEW | Mexico City – Villahermosa with Volaris.
13. MEXICO | Palenque.
14. REVIEW | Hotel Zyan Rooms in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico.
15. MEXICO | Villahermosa in Tabasco.
16. REVIEW | Aeroméxico Villahermosa – Mexico City – Mérida on Boeing 737-8 MAX.
17. YUCATÁN | Uxmal.
18. REVIEW | Casa Chaká Boutique Ka’an Room in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
19. YUCATÁN | Mérida.