Chichen Itza is impressive not just because of the number and size of its buildings and temples, but because of its architectural details. This is a figureof Chac, the rain god, built into the corner of a building known as the Igelsia, or church.
This is the great pyramid of Kukulcan, known as the El Castillo. Kukulcan is also known as Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent god. There are 91 steps up each of the four sides, and the altar at the top makes 365. The first temples at Chichen Itza were constructed in the 8th Century, A.D., and the peak of temple building occurred around 1000 A.D.
There is a tunnel leading deep into the center of El Castillo, where this altar was used for worship and sacrifice.
Mayan culture developed a very sophisticated understanding of astronomy and mathematics. This is the observatory at Chichen Itza, also known as El Caracol, or the snail, named for a spiral staircase inside. Through slits in the stone roof, the spring and fall equinoxes and the summer solstice could be tracked.
The Temple of the Warriors (Templo de los Guerreros) and the Group of the Thousand Columns are impressive from any angle, including this view from the top of the great pyramid.
Each of the columns is made even more impressive by the intricate carvings on them.
An iguana soaks up the sun from above and the warmth radiating from the stone, much as his ancestors did in Mayan times.
The 91 steps of El Castillo are so steep that people climb the steps leaning forward and using their hands as well as their feet, like giant ants. Some people have told us that they no longer allow visitors to climb the steps.
This is the view looking up the steps. The 91 steps mean that on the four sides there are 364 steps, plus the platform on top makes 365 to coincide with the days of the year.
This is the view from the top looking down the steps. This is one set of stairs it is important to watch your step going down, as serious injury or worse would be a certainty from a fall down these steps. Maybe that is why they no longer would not want people to climb up the stairs.
At the spring and fall equinoxes, the shadow cast by the edge of the Castillo forms the pattern of the back of a serpent on the side of the stairs, leading to the head of Quetzalcoatl, the serpent god, at the base of the stairs. Crowds gather to watch this masterful achievement of ancient architecture and astronomy.
At the Temple of the Skulls (Tzompantil), carved skulls commemorating the sacrificed are carved throughout the base of a large temple. When the temple was used, the skulls of the sacrificed were placed on stakes around the temple.
This is the temple at the north end of the ball court. The acoustics of the ball court are so good that a person talking in this temple could be heard at the opposite end, 443 feet away. This is the best preserved ball court in the Mayan world, but is only one of 9 ball courts at Chichen Itza. There is uncertainty and a debate whether it was the winning or losing team members who were sacrificed, but carvings show that players were sacrificed.
