Chichen Itza

At least three days are required to do justice to

Chichen Itza, an enormous and complex city. It
is easily reached from Merida via a virtual
superhighway, and equally accessible to tourists
from Yucatans Miami Beach-the resort of
Cancun.

Here is a site which has sculptures

and reliefs in enormous profusion,
all belonging to the Terminal
Classic and Post-Classic periods; its
Ball Court is the largest in
Mesoamerica, and the austere
Castillo pyramid and the Sacred
Cenote, the Temple of the Warriors,

Castillo pyramid

Sacred Cenote

rich in history, are very impressive.

The Toltec-Maya Ball Court

With walls 27 ft (8.2m) high, and an
overall length of about 490 ft (149m),
this is the largest court in Mesoamerica.
The rings set high on either wall were
used in scoring the game.
chacmool
Reclining figures of this sort were
introduced by the Toltec, and are
thought to be connected with the cult
of heart sacrifice.