Chichén Itzá, Mexico

April 2016

Chichén Itzá, Mexico

Here are photos from the trip.

The stepped pyramid of El Castillo, the Temple of Kukulcán, at Chichén Itzá, seen in three-quarter view under a clear sky.
El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulcán) at Chichén Itzá, seen in three-quarter view.
A head-on view of El Castillo at Chichén Itzá, with the central stairway and a person in red at the base of the pyramid.
El Castillo, head-on, with the central stairway.
A carved feathered-serpent head of stone at the base of a stairway at Chichén Itzá, with columns in the background.
A feathered-serpent (Kukulcán) stone head at the base of a stair, the classic serpent sculpture associated with El Castillo.
A long wall of carved stone skulls, the tzompantli, at Chichén Itzá.
The tzompantli, or wall of carved skulls, at Chichén Itzá.
The Great Ballcourt at Chichén Itzá: a long grassy playing alley between two high parallel stone walls, each with a carved stone ring set high in the center, a temple at the far end, and visitors walking on the field.
The Great Ballcourt, the largest known ballcourt in Mesoamerica, where the ballgame pok-ta-pok was played. Players tried to pass a rubber ball through stone rings set high on the walls.

Pok-ta-pok was played on this court. Players tried to pass a heavy, solid rubber ball through the stone rings set high on the walls, striking it mainly with their hips, and also with their knees and elbows, never their hands. It was a sacred ritual as much as a sport, and it could end in human sacrifice by beheading: the carved reliefs along the court walls show a kneeling player who has been beheaded, usually read as the defeated side, though some accounts say the winners were the ones sacrificed. At about 168 by 70 meters, it is the largest known ballcourt in Mesoamerica.

The Temple of the Warriors at Chichén Itzá, with its stepped pyramid and a colonnade of square columns, and visitors on the grass in front.
The Temple of the Warriors, with the colonnade known as the Group of a Thousand Columns.
A large stepped stone platform with a ruined temple on top and a central stair, at Chichén Itzá, with visitors on the lawn in front.
A stepped stone temple platform at Chichén Itzá, with a ruined superstructure and stair. The exact building is uncertain.
A circular swimming cenote with hanging tree roots, stone stairs, and orange lifebuoys on the walls, near Chichén Itzá.
A swimming cenote near Chichén Itzá, with hanging roots and stairs into the water. The setting matches Cenote Ik Kil, a common stop near the ruins.
Another view of the same swimming cenote, with people on a ledge and in the water below hanging roots.
The same cenote, with people on the ledge and in the water.

If you like Chichén Itzá, check out my Teotihuacan, Mexico page.