Uxmal

Welcome, students of history, to the magnificent ancient city of Uxmal. Nestled in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, roughly sixty kilometers south of modern day Merida, Uxmal stands alongside Chichen Itza and Tikal as one of…

Directly before us towers the undeniable centerpiece of Uxmal, the Casa del Adivino, or the Pyramid of the Magician. Standing an impressive thirty five meters, or one hundred and fifteen feet high, this structure is an…

Moving past the pyramid, we enter a massive, open courtyard enclosed by four brilliantly decorated long buildings. This is the Nunnery Quadrangle. …

Exiting the Quadrangle to the south, we arrive at the Juega de Pelota, the ancient Maya ballcourt. Though smaller than the massive court found at Chichen Itza, the court at Uxmal is beautifully proportioned and deeply significant. …

Continuing our walk, we find a remarkably elegant and restrained structure known as the Casa de las Tortugas, or the House of the Turtles. Compared to the dizzying complexity of the Nunnery Quadrangle, this building represents…

We now approach what many architectural historians consider the most beautiful building in all of pre-Columbian America: the Palacio del Gobierno, or the Governor's Palace. Resting atop an absolutely massive, three tiered stone…

Behind the Governor's Palace stands the colossal structure known as the Great Pyramid. Originally constructed with nine distinct levels, representing the nine levels of the Maya underworld, Xibalba, only the northern face has…

As our exploration of Uxmal draws to a close, take a moment to absorb the profound silence of these ruins. Unlike the crowded plazas of Chichen Itza, Uxmal offers a quieter, more intimate encounter with the ancient Maya. …