Xtampak SiteXtampak SiteThis site is about 20 miles out of the way off
Highway 261. There is a well marked new road which turns off before the town of
Hopelchen if you are coming from Uxmal.
WARNING! This site is not for the faint of heart or those who are prone to despair.
Although the Mexican Government is paving
a road to the site as quickly as possible, we found that it has been paved only a third of
the 21 mile distance, and the remainder requires weaving through open fields, rock
quarries, paving rubble, loose gravel and barely discernible trails. High clearance
vehicles are recommended. When road workers along the way tell you that you are
almost there, or that the road gets better just around the bend, DON'T BELIEVE
THEM! It just keeps getting worse.
We established a base at "The Lodge", a deluxe hotel just at the entrance to Uxmal. It only recently opened, and had very reasonable prices for a hotel with a large room with fan, an extra-deluxe bath (complete with large bathtub), a pool, TV and restaurant. We used this hotel as a base to visit other sites nearby (Sayil, Kabáh, Xlapak and Labná), as well as the more distant sites of Xtampak and Hochob. Two other luxury hotels are on the site - the Hotel Villa Arqueológica and the Hotel Hacienda Uxmal. Other low cost accommodations can be found along the road near Cárdenas.
There is little information available about the site, and it is very isolated. Excavations continue there, but if it is any indication, the site watchman sports a loaded rifle.
The site is open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking is free in a dirt lot at the bottom of the hill you have to climb to get to the site.
Click on any image to see it full size.
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The main pyramid. You can get to the top via an internal stairway, but watch out for the wasp nests and the bats. |
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The main pyramid from the back side. |
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A painted mural on the wall of the pyramid. |
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A Chaac relief on a building believed to have been used as a birthing building. |
