Chichen Itza FAQs

Chichen Itza is a Mayan city and the most famous archaeological site on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. 

It was built in the 6th century AD and it reached its height of power and prosperity in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. It was built by Mayan as a ceremonial and political center. 

The city was then abandoned due to plenty of reasons, scarcity of water and lack of resources being the primary. The ruins were then rediscovered in the 19th century AD. 

Read Chichen Itza facts to know more about the history of Chichen Itza.

Chichen Itza remains open throughout the year barring a few exceptions such as Christmas, New year’s day, and other similar occasions. 

The opening time is from 8 am to 6 pm. There is a one-hour break between 4 pm and 5 pm in which it remains closed for the visitors. 

To know more in detail about Chichen Itza opening times you can read Chichen Itza timing.

Cancun is the nearest big city to Chichen Itza, most tourists land here to get to Chichen Itza.

There are plenty of ways to reach Chichen Itza from Cancun including a Public shuttle that you can take from the ADO bus station. 

Or, you can drive yourself from Chichen Itza to Cancun. But the most convenient and suitable option is booking a tour of Chichen Itza with transportation. 

To know more in detail, you can read how to get to Chichen Itza. 

There are plenty of guided tours available for Chichen Itza. You can book a guided walking tour of Chichen Itza that includes an entrance to Chichen Itza and be more value for money. 

Or, you can book a guided walking tour without the entrance if you already have an entrance ticket. 

You also have the option of booking a self-guided audio-narration map tour of Chichen Itza. This will tell you about the history of the place in detail.

Chichen Itza is a fairly large and complex site. It is spread over an area of approximately 2.3 square miles or 6 square kilometers. 

There are plenty of interesting and important structures in this archaeological site that was built as a ceremonial and political hub by the Mayan. 

Some of these include The Great Plaza aka El Castillo or the Temple of Kukulkan, The ball court, the Temple of Warrior, the Observatory, the Sacred Cenote, and much more. 

You can refer to a map of Chichen Itza or read Chichen Itza ruins to know more about them in detail. 

Yes, there are plenty of private tours available for you to fully explore, enjoy, and experience the magnificent Chichen Itza. 

You can book a private tour from Merida that will include transportation or you can go for a private adventure tour of Chichen Itza including cave adventure and dinner at night. 

You also have the option of booking a private tour of Chichen Itza from Cancun as well. 

You can read more about them in detail at the Chichen Itza private tour.

The ancient ruins of Chichen Itza are certainly unique attractions in the world. 
They encapsulate innumerable fascinating stories about Mayan civilization, many of which aren’t certainly for the faint of hearts!

There are other adventurous things to do such as the ATV extreme adventure or a Cave adventure along with exploring Chichen Itza at night.  

Or, you can jump from a platform in a body of water if you go for the outdoor Sports in Cenote spring. The options are limitless.

There is no right or wrong time for visiting Chichen Itza. 
But, you can keep a few things in mind to better align your traveling style and preferences with a few factors that can make your visit smooth and comfortable.  

Things like weather conditions, tourist season, and crowds can greatly impact your experience at Chichen Itza. 

There is especially more crowd on days of special events such as the spring equinox. You can read the best time to visit Chichen Itza to know about them in great detail.

Chichen Itza is a fairly big archaeological site with multiple interesting structures that will intrigue you. 

If you just want to get a general overview and want to wrap up your visit in as less time as possible then you need at least 4 hours. 

We recommend however spending at least half-day to truly observe the magnificence of this unique site. 

You can read how long it takes in Chichen Itza for more details or perhaps book a Chichen Itza tour without the hassle of planning a suitable itinerary for yourself.

It is primarily known as Cancun Go City Explorer Pass. It is a pass that brings you a list of hand-picked 40 attractions and you can choose to visit either 3,5,7 or 10. 

This is one of the most popular and value-for-money tickets to Chichen Itza as it includes round-trip transportation from Cancun as well. 

There are plenty of other exciting attractions you can visit along with Chichen Itza so read Chichen Itza City Pass to know more about it.

March 20th and 21st, the equinox Chichen Itza takes place.

It is popularly called the Chichen Itza light and shadow show that attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world. 

At this time, the sun begins its way toward the horizon and several shadows start to appear on the main pyramid at Chichen Itza’s– temple of Kukulkan. 

This is also known as Chichen Itza snake shadow, believed to be the feathered snake god, Kukulkan. This phenomenon also takes place during the fall equinox on September 21st as well.

Yes, you can most definitely do the Maya ruins of Chichen Itza as well as the ruins that are located in Tulum together in one day. 

You can book the Chichen Itza Tour with Mayan Ruins of Tulum. This amazing tour combines both of these things to make your tour to Chichen Itza more convenient. 

It will give you a more comprehensive perspective of the history of the Maya and you will be able to visit all the significant ruin sites of the Mayans comfortably.

Most people refer to the pyramid located in the central part of the ruined city as the Chichen Itza. 

The pyramid is dedicated to the feathered snake god called Kukulkan. Inside the pyramid, there are a number of artifacts such as pottery and stone tools. 

There is however a second pyramid-like structure inside the main pyramid which is not open to visitors. 

Book your Chichen Itza tickets and explore one of the new seven wonders of the world.

There are numerous underground caves called Krast, under Chichen Itza’s limestone bedrock. 

These caves, beneath the ruins, are filled with hundreds of artifacts of the Mayan civilization. Read Chichen Itza facts to learn about other fascinating aspects of it. 

One interesting speculation in recent times is the existence of a third smaller pyramid inside the second pyramid inside the outer bigger pyramid of the temple of Kukulkan. 

Why don’t you check out this hypothesis by booking a Chichen Itza tour?