The Upper Temple of the Jaguars displays a facade with friezes formed of intertwining feathered serpents and jaguars. The Lower Temple of the Jaguars has murals, two columns and a jaguar throne. Columns, doors and walls show figures of Toltec and Mayan warriors, as well as members of the nobility.

Recognized by the columns in front, it has a chac mool and columns with feathered serpents, warriors and priests engraved on them inside its upper temple. The chac mool sculptures represent the messengers to the gods; they hold up an urn for offerings.

This platform has four staircases lined with carvings of feathered serpents, related to Kukulcan. The base is topped with images (serpent-bird-jaguar-man) and three symbols: Venus, the “bundle of years” (Haab cycle) and a woven mat (Pop, first month).

This platform has balustrades carved like feathered serpents. On the main panels, eagles and jaguars devouring human hearts are prominent. Another image is of a reclining man holding a lance.

Rectangular shaped two-story building measuring around 55 x 30 mts. and decorated with Chaac masks, stone mosaics and columns carved in deep relief. Nearby is the Temple of the Sculpted Panels, a two-story building that owes its name to the rich bas-reliefs on the panels of the north and south façades.

A one-room, Puuc-style building. The lower walls are unadorned, while the upper walls are extremely decorated, starting with geometric, spiral-type moldings. In the center and on each corner there are large Chaac masks.

Pyramid measuring 10 mts. in height, with seven platforms and four staircases with sides made of feathered serpents. The three upper platforms are decorated with birds with the face of Itzamna and representations of fruit and cocoa. The center has a vertical strip that leads to a cave where, to date, seven burials have been found.

It’s proof of the Maya interest in expanding their knowledge of the universe, especially in Venus, identified with Kukulcan. The building is a round tower on square structures that sit upon a large platform.

Chichen Itza’s most symbolic structure, it dominates the Great Plaza with its 30-meter (98 ft.) height. Representing a solar calendar, it marks the solstices and equinoxes. The four staircases and the base, made up of nine terraces, finish off in a flat-roofed temple. The sides of the northern staircase end up with two huge serpent heads at the bottom. The upper temple has four entrances, even though the northern one is a large portico divided by two columns in the shape of feathered serpents: Kukulkan. There is a substructure inside.

More than 220 pillars with the social elite such as priests, rulers and warriors depicted on them. The columns, that once supported roofs in ancient times, form the border of a 1.8-hectare plaza with several buildings, such as The Market, to the south, boasting an inner patio surrounded by 25 columns.

The court (166 x 68 m) has perfect acoustics. It has two panels with decapitation scenes related to the game and 7-meter-high (23 ft.) scoring rings. This complex includes the Temple of the Jaguars, the South Temple and the North Temple (of the Bearded Man).

Called Red House due to a mural painted on its interior walls. Its name in Mayan, Chichanchob, means “little holes,” referring to the cavities in its roof comb, decorated with Chaac masks and friezes. There are hieroglyphics inside.

It was considered the gateway to the underworld and access to the gods as well as a source of survival, water. It was a well of worship. The leading class threw different valuable objects into it as offerings (gold, turquoise, copper, obsidian, jade and even woven materials). To date, more than 30,000 objects have been recovered. It was also a receptacle of human sacrifices (at least between 1000 ad 1550 A.D.). It is 60 mts. in diameter.

Called this due to a painting of a deer on an inside wall. Its base has tilted walls and rounded corners. A staircase leads to a surface where the three-room house is set with vaulted ceilings.

The east side door simulates the open jaws of a supernatural being, the lintel boasts glyphs depicting an eclipse and Venus. It has large Chaac masks and an exquisite stone-mosaic overlay and high reliefs.

It highlights some unique aspects of the city; the illuminated buildings situated amongst the jungle and under a starry sky stir the imagination in those present.

(Video: Redz Star Video Productions)

El Castillo symbolizes the solar calendar. During the equinox, seven triangles of light appear on the exterior of the northern staircase and they join with the head of the serpent at the base of the pyramid, forming a figure of a serpent undulating down the side: Kukulkan.

(Video: SmithsonianNMAI)

The closest group, the Observatory-the Nunnery, is 20 minutes down the road. Its architectural style is modified Puuc. The most interesting buildings are the Temple of the Owls (with engraved panels), the Temple of the Phallus, of the Atlanteans and of the Three Lintels.

During the 16th century the city fascinated Friar Diego de Landa, who mentions it in his “Relación de las Cosas de Yucatán”. In the 19th century John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood record the first detailed description of Chichen Itza with maps and engravings. Later (1873), Augustus Le Plongeon mapped out, drew and photographed the city; in 1880. Towards the end of the 19th century, Alfred P. Maudslay created extraordinary drawings and photos, as did Adela Breton and Theobert Maler. Edward Thompson visited the site in 1885 and remained there for 30 years. At the beginning of the 20th century, Seler, Tozzer and Marquina, studied Chichen Itza. Some other people continued the exploration, including: Manuel Gamio, Sylvanus Morley, Jose Erosa, Alberto Ruz, Roman Pina Chan, Peter Schmidt and Jose Osorio Leon.

Chichen Itza, “the city of the water sorcerers,” reached its peak during the 9th century, and culminated in its abandonment in 1200 A.D. It was the Yucatan Peninsula’s most powerful city, with innovative ideas in architecture, astronomy, politics and religion. Chichen Itza is considered as one of the seven wonders of the world.