POPULAR MAYAN SITES
1. Labná
One of the most beautiful Mayan sites, this is set in a wooded valley full of colorful birds and retains a strong impression of the life that went on here. It boasts fine buildings, above all the Arch of Labná.
Doorway in a Labná building
2. Kabah
This was second in importance among the Puuc cities after Uxmal, to which it was linked by a sacbé or Mayan road. A grand arch over the end of this path forms a pair with the arch at Uxmal. The great highlight is the Codz-Poop or “Palace of Masks,” with a facade that has over 250 long-nosed Chac faces.
Buildings in the Kabah complex
3. Ek-Balam
This compact city was little known, but excavations of its largest temple-mound in 1998 revealed spectacular carvings, especially at El Trono (“The Throne”), the largest and most extravagant of Mayan monster-mouth temples. Other unique buildings include an almost spiral-shaped tower, La Redonda, the design of which is a mystery.
4. Sayil
With around 17,000 inhabitants in AD 850, Sayil was among the wealthiest of the Puuc towns. Its magnificent Palacio has been likened to ancient Greek buildings. The Mirador pyramid was the center of the town’s market area.
5. Dzibilchaltún
Located just north of Mérida, this site was occupied for over 2,000 years. At dawn on spring and summer equinoxes, the sun strikes straight through the open doorways of the Temple of the Seven Dolls and along a road. There’s also a great swimming cenote located here.
6. Chichén Itzá
The most dramatic of the Mayan cities, this has gigantic buildings, including the great pyramid that has become an enduring symbol of the Yucatán.
7. Tulum
A small city from the last decades of Mayan civilization, Tulum is spectacular as the only Mayan city built above a beach.
8. Edzná
One of the largest and wealthiest cities of Classic-era Yucatán, Edzná boasts a huge palace, the “Building of the Five Stories,” which is the largest and most complex of all Mayan multistory buildings.
9. Uxmal
A hugely atmospheric city, Uxmal has some of the finest Mayan buildings in the Nunnery Quadrangle and the Governor’s Palace.
Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal
10. Cobá
Before the rise of Chichén Itzá, Cobá was the largest and most powerful city in northern Yucatán. Buildings are spread over a huge area of dense forest and lakes. The Nohoch Mul, at 138 ft (42 m), is the highest pyramid in the Yucatán.
TOP 10 QUIETER SITES
1. Aké
Built of massive columns and huge stone slabs, this city is unlike anywhere else in the Yucatán.
Aké’s strange stone columns
2. El Meco, Cancún
The most important city near Cancún in pre-Hispanic times.
3. San Gervasio, Cozumel
Capital of the island when it (see Cozumel) was one of the great pilgrimage centers of Mayan Yucatán.
4. Xel-Ha
One (see Xel-Ha) of the oldest Mayan sites near the modern Riviera, with ancient murals of birds.
5. Muyil
A very old Mayan site next to the Sian Ka’an reserve, with several pyramids amid the forest.
6. El Rey, Cancún
The relics (see El Rey Site) of the historic occupiers of Cancún Island.
7. Xcambó
A tiny site with a Catholic chapel built onto one of its pyramids.
8. Oxkintok
Ancient city just west of the Puuc area. It rivalled Uxmal in size, and it has a bizarre temple-labyrinth.
9. Xlapak
The Palacio has a frieze of elaborately carved Chac-masks.
10. Mayapán
The last major Mayan city, which dominated the Yucatán from 1200–1400.
