Maya Archeological Sites

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General Comments

The Mexican Government is conducting an aggressive campaign to make the major Maya archeological sites more accessible to the tourist. This effort includes better roads, visitor headquarters and encouragement of construction of environmentally sound hotel accommodations. There are frequent organized tours to most of these sites, access by rental car is easy, and the hardy traveler can also reach most sites by bus. Some sites, however, are only for the most determined visitor, and are at the end of bad roads, require overnight camping in the jungle, or journey by river craft.

Admission fees to most sites range from 15 to 25 pesos, but shooting amateur video requires a special permit for 30 pesos. This permit may be purchased at any site, and is good for all other sites visited that day. Entry is free on Sundays.

Guides with passable skills in your native language are available at most sites for a negotiable fee. Be aware that their interpretation of the site and its artifacts are sometimes highly folkloric, although many guides keep up with the continuing research taking place at their sites.

Physical Fitness Program

Most sites involve a lot of walking in hot and humid weather. If you tire easily, take extra time and rest along the way. Some sites have small open-air restaurants where you can pause for a refresher. Bring bottled water and drink it to avoid dehydration. Scaling pyramids can be a challenging task. The steps are narrow and steep and you usually have to climb well over 100 of them to get to the top.

Sylvia climbing the pyramid at Chichén-Itzá. Note the person at the bottom of the chain she is using to help her climb.

Once you get to the top and have reservations about coming down, several sites have helpers who will talk you down if necessary!  Veteran pyramid climber Jane Talbot (both in the Americas and Egypt) suggests that you should ascend and descend these steep edifices in a diagonal zigzag fashion; your footing and perspective will make the journey easier.

The views are usually worth the climb, with breathtaking overviews of the entire site and the surrounding jungles. Some pyramids have special carvings or artifacts at the top.  However, because of the heavy tourist traffic and consequent wear on them, many of the pyramids now prohibit climbing the steps, or only allow it on a limited basis.  If you haven't climbed one yet, hurry up and go before INAH shuts them all down!

A number of the pyramids also have tombs or special rooms inside them. To see these, you usually have to climb all the way down the pyramid and then most of the way up again (or vice versa) via a separate set of steps or tunnels through the inside of the pyramid.  These usually well-lit passageways can be steep, narrow, slippery, and dank, sometimes with poor ventilation.  However, few other experiences can match the feeling of walking in the steps of the Maya.

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