El Castillo (Chichen Itza)
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Shorelander
N 20° 40.997 W 088° 34.111
16Q E 336628 N 2287885
The massive central pyramid at the pre-Columbian Mayan city of Chichen Itza.
Waymark Code: WM3NTG
Location: Yucatán, Mexico
Date Posted: 04/26/2008
Views: 118
El Castillo (Spanish for The Castle) is a temple to the Mayan god Kukulcan (analogous to the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl). The building is almost 100 feet tall (including the temple at the top of the building). The pyramid is closely tied to the calendar, with 91 steps in the stairways on each of the four sides and a further step at the top, corresponding to the 365 days of the year. More impressively, at the two annual equinoxes, the sun hits the pyramid just so, creating a representation of a snake slithering down the side of the building through shadow and light, ending at the carved head at the bottom. The snake is only fully visible on these days, and the spectacle inspires thousands of visitors to flood the area.
You are no longer allowed to climb the pyramid due to the death of a tourist in 2006 who slipped climbing the steep steps. Intriguingly, the Mesoamericans often built temples atop one another, and this one was no exception. In the mid-1930s, the Mexican government found a hidden stairway into the interior of the pyramid. Therein they found another throne room with a throne and a jaguar inlaid with jade. Again, this is now inaccessible to the public. However, the site is quite magnificent, even just from the outside.
Location of Pyramid: Yucatán, Mexico
Approximate Date of Construction: Sometime between 1000-1200 AD
Website: [Web Link]
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