Exploring The Best Mesoamerican Temples
Mexico City
Tenochtitlan
In modern day Mexico City you can still see the ruins of the temples of Tenochtitlan. You can also see the sinking surrounding buildings, because this metropolitan city is still built on this swampy ground. I would highly recommend doing a free walking tour through the historic city center of Mexico City.
National Archeological Museum
Mexico City is definitely one of the most relevant places to visit to learn about the ancient civilisations and if you want to bring your knowledge to new hights, then stop by the National Archeological Museum of Mexico City. It is one of my favorite museums in the world and is a good place to start to learn all about the next cities that I’ll be talking about and I would like to revisit it now after having seen everything and being able to place the information much better.
Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan is another Aztec settlement just outside of Mexico City, which is known for its Sun and Moon pyramid and the Avenue of the Dead connecting the two.
A popular way of visiting this site is by taking a Hot air balloon over it at sunrise. Anyone I know that’s done it, told me it’s more than worth the money. Since Teotihuacan’s origins, history, and culture largely remain a mystery, the sunrise adventure is a good way of experiencing the mystery of the place.
Tula
Tula reached its height as the capital of the Toltec Empire between the fall of Teotihuacan and the rise of Tenochtitlan. The main attraction is the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, which is topped by four 4-metre-high (13 ft) basalt columns carved in the shape of Toltec warriors.
Puebla
The Great pyramid of Cholula is the largest pyramid as well as the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world. With a total volume estimated at over 4.45 million cubic meters it is even larger than that of the much taller Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Regional Museum is a small museum located on site, the pyramid itself is epic, and on top of it sits one of the most iconic churches in all of Mexico – the Sanctuario de la Virgen de Los Remedios. This Spanish church built on top of the pyramid is beautiful and can be seen from miles away. The Spanish conquistadors often built their churches on top of the ancient temples.
In the background of Cholula are Mexico’s two most iconic volcanoes. This backdrop is easily one of the most amazing views in all of Mexico. I’m unsure if you can visit the inside of the pyramid, being the tunnels. I’m definitely going back to see it for myself.
Monte Alban
Monte Alban was an ancient Zapotec capital and especially it’s location, up on a mountain overlooking the valley of Oaxaca City is simply stunning.
Chiapas
Next up are not one, but 3 sites I visited in Chiapas, the Southern most state of Mexico. I went on a 2-day tour from San Cristobal de las Casas to Palenque, passing by the Misol Ha & Aguas Azul waterfalls as well as the following ruins, which are all very unique!
Bonampak & Yaxchilan
Bonampak blew me away because of the extremely well preserved murals and Yaxchilan can only be reached by boat on the river that separates Mexico from Guatemala. So you’ll see crocodiles on your way there. As soon as you reach the site, the sound of the howler monkeys hits your eardrums and you’re really in the middle of the jungle. Beware of the snakes, that was definitely the one thing I didn’t like there. Oh and I rolled down the pyramid! The steps were covered in slippery moss, so it’s definitely a place to watch your feet, but so worth it!
Palenque
We ended in Palenque is a medium-sized site, smaller than Tikal, Chichen Itza, or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and carvings that tell much of the history of Palenque. They also found a crypt was discovered under one of the temples, in which were found jade-ornamented remains.
Yucatan
Moving on to what’s probably the most popular state to visit Mesoamerican Sites. That’s Yucatan ofcourse! Let’s start from most expensive to cheapest of all.
Chichen-Itza
Chichen Itza is by far the most popular Pre-Hispanic city. It is one of the 7 World Wonders and for good reason. It’s architecture is incredible, playing with sound and light like nothing that’s been built to this day. From the sound of the Quetzal that can be heard when you clap in front of it, to the snake's shadow coming down the steps during the equinoxes of the year.
The temple complex is very big from the Great Ball Court to the Skull Wall and so much more. The tour we got was also very in depth, so although it is one of the most expensive experiences, it was worth it in my opinion if you can look past the crowds and souvenir stalls around.
Uxmal
Uxmal near Merida is also on the expensive side, costing about $20 back when I visited it 2 years ago. Cost aside, and the fact that there was no bus back for hours and we failed to hitchhike, making it the second hardest to reach site I’ve been to, after Calakmul. But still, it was more than worth it, because the complex was huge with many well-preserved structures and incredibly beautiful decorations and carvings.
Edzna
Edzna is a Maya archaeological site near Campeche. Although it is probably the least known site, it is one that has a special place in my heart. I loved the colorful old town of Campeche and got a local colectivo that leaves once it’s full to the nearby archeological site. When I got out, only 2 other girls got out with me and that’s how I met my friend Selene, who I’ve since spent many good times with. After introducing myself to her and her friend I set off to explore the ruins and they were probably the cheapest visit I’ve done and there were less than 10 other people on site, which was so cool!
Ek Balam ( Valladolid) & Coba are 2 more archeological sites in Yucatan that couldn’t seduce me into visiting them. Even when I was back in the area now, I didn’t think they had more to offer than the other sites I had already visit.
Quintana Roo
Tulum
The archeological site of Tulum, yet again has a unique feature. It is the only temple located on the beach. You can combine a cultural visit with some time on the beach.
Calakmul
We got the ADO bus to Xpujil from Bacalar that left at midnight and arrived at half past two, so we booked a place to get a few more hours of sleep. We were picked up half an hour late at 5.30am and were in for a long journey into the jungle.
We spotted a wild turkey along the way before arriving at the Crocodile pool trail. I was skeptical that we’d see any monkeys as the guide promised, but shortly after starting to walk, the howling began. There were even some babies swinging around! We couldn’t see any crocs in the dried up pool though.
We finally started exploring around the ruins of CalakmulI was told by other travelers, that it was a mystical place where you could still see the animals roam over the temples at sunrise because of its remote location. This was simply an unrealistic expectation if it to 2,5 hours to get here from the closest town and the sunrise was long gone by the time we arrived.
However, we did have a super knowledgeable guide who had taken part in the uncovering of the temples after they had been discovered, teaching us all about the local politics and knowing every single fact about the place. We did end up standing a meter away from another howler family with babies and if you know me, baby animals are all it takes for me to be happy. When you’re lucky and it’s a really clear day, apparently you can see El Mirador all the way across the Guatemalan border. We weren’t lucky unfortunately. We ended with seeing some more fauna and flora, like orchids and chewing gum trees.
Guatemala
Tikal
So I may not have had the sunrise experience I had hoped for at Calakmul, but I did have it somewhere else! Let’s leave Mexico behind and arrive in Guatemala at Tikal.
When we arrived at the entrance, we could hear the howler monkeys already. We all had to sign in and got our bracelets. After half an hour of running to the other side of the site we made it to the highest temple where most of the other early birds were already watching the sky light up over the forest.
As we waited for the sun to rise above the horizon, we got to enjoy natural entertainment. A whole family of white nosed coatis including babies! Aside from these adorable furry babies, the birds came around to sing their first song of the day and even the orange breasted falcon came by to say hi!
We then descended to explore the rest of the Mayan city and the birds really started stealing the show. From parrots to so many toucans! I had been wanting to see a toucan properly for so long now! The amount of different parrots and birds of prey that we could see and hear in the treetops from here, was just incredible!
We made it to the next pyramid and once again we had to climb it. It was already getting hot at about 7am! However, the view was completely worth it! It was arguably better than the first view. We walked across the rest of the site quite swiftly. Often walking over still covered pyramids and structures. I found that the quide was not interesting at all, giving us barely any information.
As our last effort of the day we climbed the main pyramid on the square. We were sweating so much and later heard that it was one of the hottest days so far, reaching up to 42 degrees celsius! There was little to no wind. Thank God we did this visit so early! We then walked back to the entrance, where they made us wait over half an hour at some restaurant, most of us half asleep, before returning to the city, all of us fast asleep as the return took us twice as long due to road works. We were finally back in Flores around noon.
El Mirador
El Mirador is nestled deep in the Petén jungle. Visiting the lost city of Guatemala's El Mirador takes time, planning and money. It wasn't until 2003 that researchers really began to work at the ruin. Even now, only a tiny fraction of the structures have been excavated.
La Danta pyramid temple has an estimated volume of 2,800,000 cubic meters, making it one of the largest pyramids in the world. It takes a week-long hike through pristine jungle, stopping at ruins few people – even those who love ruins – will ever get to see. Or you can go by helicopter, but let’s be real, trekking through the jungle for days like the Mayans did when they went to another city for trade or political reasons along a spider web of raised roadways they built called scabe. That sounds more like an experience to me.
If you’re not up for this, I believe Calakmul feels equally as abandoned and in the middle of nowhere, as you see nothing but forest around when you’re on top of the pyramid.
Central America
If you feel like exploring some sites further south, then Copan in Honduras or some lesser known Mayan ruins in El Salvador and Belize, as well as Guatemala might be of interest to you. Especially Copan was similar in size as Tikal and they have been compared to the Paris and New York of their time.
The ATM Caves or Actun Tunichil Muknal Caves is by far the most unique place of all the ones I've mentioned already. We were picked up at the hostel and drove for about an hour to reach the checkpoint of the ATM Cave. We got geared up and left everything, even our phones, behind. It's not allowed to film inside.
Is it worth the hefty price tag of 100 USD? Well, it was definitely a one of a kind activity, there is nothing like it in the world. When we arrived we first had to walk for about half an hour to the entrance of the cave, passing through rivers up to our chests in water. Then first we made our way through the wet parts of the cave, walking through the crystal clear water among the pink and glistening rocks, it was magnificent.
After walking for a while we reached the dry chambers. We climbed out of the water up to the entrance of the sacrificial chambers. Here we left our shoes and entered barefoot. The Mayans created steps in the rocks where they had to climb and it’s so surreal that you are literally walking in the Mayans footsteps.
Our guide was incredible, super knowledgeable about all the archeological and anthropological facts so, how the pottery was used, why it’s covered in charcoal, how the caves used to look with the light of the burning fire, the shadows they used to interpret and how they even carved some stalactites to resemble the God of rain that they were sacrificing to, because they experienced a lengthy period without rain. You see how the objects, and even finger bones are calcified and then you pass through what seems to be a giant natural hall, to climb your way into the main chamber. There you see the 2 skeletons of people who were sacrificed, clearly against their will.
The reason why cameras are not allowed, is because a tourist let his camera fall onto one of the skulls, making it possible now to see the difference between skull and calcification. which as a nerd, I did think was pretty cool. Also as someone who has seen every murder mystery under the sun, I realized as I was standing there that I was looking at an actual murder victim. Bizarre… We then exited the caves the same way we got in. After the tour we got lunch and drove back.
I’m so glad I’ve done this excursion, because I have visited almost every Mayan ruin site there is, And although I love seeing the temples etcetera, all you really see is stones. In the caves for the first time I felt and experienced what the life of the Mayans was actually like. What they did. So it definitely made all those Archeological site visits complete. It was the first recommendation I got when I landed in Central America and everyone who did it said that it was one of the best things they’ve ever done.
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