18/02/2021
Dominated by the famous pyramid El Castillo (the Temple of ), Chichen Itza located in , Mexico is classified as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and was enlisted as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
The term Chichen Itza means ‘the mouth at the well of Itza’. It is believed Itza means ‘water magicians’, deriving from the Mayan Itz for ‘magic’ and á for ‘water’.
Believed by to have been a powerful economic city around 600 AD, the fall of Chichen Itza is thought to have been approximately 1000 AD.
The design and layout of Chichen Itza was clearly well planned and builders constructed and in sets of
The four most well known clusters are the Great North Platform, the Group, the Central Group and the Old Chichen, which is not open to the public. The Great North Platform is home to the most visited sites of Chichen Itza, including the Kukulkan Pyramid, the Great Ball Court and the Temple of the .
During the Spring and Autumn , sun rays create a shadow across the Pyramid that gives the appearance of a serpent slithering down the staircase.
Located on the north side of the Kukulkan Pyramid is a platform dedicated to the planet . The Mayans were devoted and the movements of Venus held special meaning to them, with it influencing the architecture of the ancient Mayan city .
Although the Kukulkan Pyramid is the most famous and most visited, there are numerous others in Chichen Itza. The is very similar but smaller in size and at the centre is an opening to a natural cave.
Many of the sites in Chichen Itza are known for their unusual sounds. If you clap once from one end of the Ball Court, it produces nine echoes in the middle of the court. Additionally, a clap in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid creates an resembling the serpent’s chirp.