Chichen Itza

2467 Reviews

Star Travel Rating

5/5

Review type

Things to do

Location

Date of travel

2011

Product name

Product country

Product city

Travelled with

Adult family

Reasons for trip

My sister Carol, took me on a holiday of a lifetime to Cancun, Mexico. Neither of us had ventured this far away before, but the holiday was a much needed break for her. Carol booked a twin centre stay, 5 days at Adventura Spa Riviera Maya and 5 days at Beach Palace down town Cancun. When we first arrived my jaw literally dropped open, I had a lump in my throat and couldn`t speak to her. Adventura Spa was stunningly beautiful, it took my breath away, in fact I think I cried, but tears of joy. Our room was wonderful, double jacuzzi inside and views of the ocean, our every need catered for. So on to our special trip. It took us 3 hours to get to Chichen Itza from our hotel, tiring but excited we walked to the entrance of the ruins/archeological site. Down a dirt track which opened up into a huge space and there, right in front of us was what we had been longing to see. The Kukulkan Pyramid, standing 24m high, a mean feat in the Myan civilization. It really does take your breath away, the only disappointment being that you can no longer climb to the top because of erosion, but it needs to be preserved for future generations to see, as it has become one of the new seven wonders of the world in July 2007. We never do `tour guides`, preferring to wander on our own, but I`m glad we did this time because we learnt so much about this site and the Mayan civilization and culture. When you stand at a certain angle to the pyramid you can see the carvings of a snake winding its way up to the top. The buildings themselves linked to astronomy and the night skies. The Mayans devised a calendar and could predict solar eclipses, the Observatory remains on the site, on of my favourites, how advanced they were at the time. Also used as a sacrificial/religious site, evidence remains, through findings in their sink holes/wells. Female victims were thrown in as sacrifice to the rain god. There is also the remains of a ball court, the loosers once again being offered as sacrifice. The site is vast and it makes you wonder why the Mayans left, what happened to make them disappear into the jungle. I learnt that their burial chambers have an open back, this is because they believed that the soul can be released. It was truly a wonderful day trip and we feel so lucky to of been able to see it all for ourselves. The only negative note was the constant badgering of locals selling their wares, it grew very tiring, it was not every 10 minutes but every two steps forward we made. I understand they need to earn a living, but perhaps it should be done on entrance/exit to site only, not while your wandering round trying to take it all in and enjoy the most amazing step back in time to a lost civilization. The day was hot, humid but overwhelming and I absolutely loved it, thanks to my sister Carol. When we got back to our hotel, it was straight into the jacuzzi with a double bacardi & coke. We enjoyed our day so much we didn`t want it to end, so a few days later we decided to visit the only Mayan ruin built on the coast and that is `Tulum`. The ruins are built on a 12 metre high cliff facing the Caribbean Sea in Quintana Roo on the Yukutan peninsula, Mexico. Wow, stunning is all I can say, haha, well that calls for another review. The most important tip take plenty of fluids, it gets very hot and alot of walking.

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