Main Entrance - Gateway to a Maya City
A stop on Chichen Itza Self-Guided Tour, a free self-guided tour.
You are standing at the doorstep of one of the great cities of the ancient Americas. Chichen Itza rose to power in northern Yucatan in the 800s and 900s and remained a regional capital until it declined around 1100. Its name means "at the mouth of the well of the Itza," a nod to the giant natural sinkholes, called cenotes, that supplied water in a land with no rivers.
This loop crosses the Great Plaza, follows an ancient causeway to the Sacred Cenote, then turns south to the older buildings before bringing you back here. Allow about two and a half hours on foot, on dirt paths with very little shade.
Before you set off, fill your water bottle, put on a hat and sunscreen, and get moving early, ahead of the midday heat and the tour buses. Climbing the structures is not allowed, so you will enjoy everything from the ground - which is where the best views are anyway.
Getting here: Buy your ticket at the visitor building and pass through the entry gate; this stop is the plaza just inside.
Did you know?: Chichen Itza was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1988, and in 2007 it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a global popular vote.
Photo op: Grab a quick group shot by the entrance signage while everyone is still fresh and the light is soft.
More on Wikipedia: Chichen Itza · Cenote · Maya civilization
Stops on this tour
- Main Entrance - Gateway to a Maya City
- Great Ball Court - The Biggest Game in Town
- Temple of the Jaguars - Best Seat at the Game
- Tzompantli - The Wall of Skulls
- Platform of Venus - Tracking the Morning Star
- Sacred Cenote - The Well of Offerings
- Temple of the Warriors - A Tula Look-Alike
- Group of a Thousand Columns - A Forest of Stone
- El Castillo - The Pyramid of Kukulcan
- The Ossuary - High Priest's Grave
- El Caracol - The Maya Observatory
- Las Monjas - The Palace They Called a Convent