Hello all,

I've been reading these forums for the last year and a half in preparation for my 6/14-6/23 honeymoon to Cancun. I have a question about Chichen Itza.

I have heard that you are not allowed to climb to the top of the pyramid anymore. Is this true?

Thanks all for the help!

We were there last May and were told at that time they were closing off the pyramid "soon".

We climbed it in Aug and heard the same thing.

An alternative is to visit the ruins of Coba which actually has the highest pyramid in the Yucatan. It's long trek; I had to take a break half way up.

I heard the same thing in September, 2003...

It is not that hard to go up... it is much harder to go down. There's a rope on one of the sides, it is much easier if you hang on to it.

The views from the top are more than worth the effort of climbing the pyramid!

Trivia: Did you know that there are exactly 365 steps in the pyramid? 91 on each side, plus one at the very top!

We climbed it two weeks ago, so the pyramid is still open. You can only go up and down on 2 of the 4 sides. We also climbed the pyramid at Coba.

swimmr
THANKS for that info! I thought it was already closed to climbing. Haven't been there since 1979 and thought we wouldn't be able to climb it this summer when we go to the PDC area. So excited to know we might--if it's still open.

We're going in June as well. I hope it won't be closed. My husband is the climber and will be really bummed if he can't do it.

Just came back from Mexico. We were able to climb Chichen Itza. You can climb it on two sides. One has a rope to help on the way down. It gets pretty steep.

How does it compare to Xunantunich in Belize?

My husband and I climbed it in 1999 - we were told then that it would be closed to climbing by 2000...

Pumpy - I've climbed both CI and Xan. My feeling is that Xan was easier. I had to hold the rope coming down from CI.

Having been involved with pre-Columbian art history of ancient Mesoamerica for nearly 50 years, I am surprised when I hear people refer to "the pyramid" at Chichén-Itzá. I asssume they mean El Castillo. I have not been there for ten years--I do not consider CI the major ruin in Yucatan, but (unless there is a new ruling) you can also climb The Temple of the Warriors, The main Ball Court Complex ('main', because there are five there), and in the "old" section (classic Period): the Nunnery, El Caracol, the Red House, the Deer house, and several more. BTW, we use the term pyramid, but these were temples. There is only one that is "pyramidal"--actually the temple base or support of El Castillo, but it is not necessarily the most important structure there, and it is the least Mayan. It is more Toltec than Mayan. Chichén is probably the least Mayan of all the ruins in Yucatan. It mostly reflects the hybrid Maya-Toltec culture. And if you have a taste for the "quirky", don't miss the Temple of the Phalli".

Buena suerte,
Norm

Unfortunately, you can't climb the Temple of the Warriors anymore. Apparently, someone thought that it would be fun to plant a kiss on the Chac Mool there for a picture. It was impossible to remove the lipstick afterward without damaging the statue, so they roped it off.