The name ‘Chichen-Itza’ is translated to mean ‘At the edge of the Well of Itzaes’. It is the name given to a Mexican town founded in the Classic Period near to natural cavities known as Cenotes and Chenes. Cenotes cavity assisted the town dwellers to exploit the underground waters in the area.

Accounts of settlement in the town are varied, with one manuscript giving the date of 415 to 435 AD while the other gives 455AD. The town developed around a sector referred to as Chichen Viejo that already boasted a series of monuments such as the Nunnery, Akab Dzib, Chichan Chob, The Temple of the Deer, and the Temple of Panels.

Most of the monuments in the town were constructed between 6th and 10th centuries. They feature the Mayan style that is so characteristic of the northern and southern area of Puuc Hills.

The second settlement of Chichen-Itza is the one considered most important by historians as it corresponded with the migration of Toltec Warriors from the Mexican Plateau towards the south in the 10th century. The most common account of the town’s history tells of Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl the King of Tula ruling the city between 967 AD and 987 AD. The Maya called the ruler Kukulkan.

After the Yucatan Peninsula was conquered by the Maya, a new style emerged, blending the Maya and Toltec Traditions. The town of Chichen-Itza is a clear illustration of the fusion of the 2 cultures. Below is a list of the attractions that you are going to find in the city.

• The Caracol, a circular stellar observatory whose spiral staircase accounts for its name
• El Castillo- This is also known as the Temple of Kukulkan
• Terraces surrounding El Castillo
• The Great Ball Court
• Tzompantli or the Skull Wall
• The Jaguar Temple
• The House of Eagles
• The Temple of the Warriors
• The Group of the Thousand Columns
• The Market
• The Great Ball Court
• The Tomb of the High Priest

Trust me; you will find a lot of fun touring this ancient city. It is a clear demonstration of how conquered territories adopted the culture of the conquering power and made it their own.