Get to know Uxmal

If you are a lover of history and culture and you would like to live the experience of being in one of the most important archaeological sites of the Mayan Culture, you have to travel to Uxmal in Yucatan and enjoy the spectacularity of the most representative archaeological site of the Puuc architecture.

 

It is located in Municipio de Santa Elena (Municipality of Santa Elena), very close to the city of Merida. You have to take the federal highway that goes to Campeche. Once you arrive you will be able to explore the beauty of its low and horizontal palaces, it’s very detailed decorative sculptures made with thousands of small stones perfectly polished and adjusted that form geometric mosaics of perfection not equaled in all the Mayan zone.

 

Uxmal was built by the Xiues tribe, its peak period was from 600 to 900 A.D. and had a population of 20 thousand inhabitants. There are two explanations for the meaning of its name: Oxmal, which means “Three times built”; or Uchmal, “What is to come, the future”.

 

But the great amount and variety of buildings it has spoken of the social complexity of the political, economic, and social center, since it is formed by 15 groups of buildings distributed from north to south, in an extension of approximately 2 kilometers.

 

There is no exact orientation to tour the area, but you can start with La Casa del Adivino (The Soothsayer's House), an impressive structure with a unique elliptical shape and a height of more than 35 meters ( 115 feet). Legend has it that this pyramid was built by a dwarf in just one night, although it was actually erected in five stages.

 

Then visit el Convento (The Convent), it is known that it was used as a school for healers, astrologers, and priests.

 

An excellent example of stone mosaic work is el Palacio de El Gobernador (The Governor's Palace). It has beautiful sculptures of the rain god Chaac, snakes, and astrological symbols. The upper facade is 100 meters ( 328 feet ) long. Its interior consists of 20 rooms, number 20 being the sacred unit of the Mayan vigesimal numeral system.

 

La Casa de las Tortugas (House of the Turtles) is an architectural jewel that limits its decoration with the columns of the superior facade and a strip of realistic turtles scattered in the high cornice.

 

A magnificent decoration stands out in el Cuadrángulo de las Monjas (Nuns' Square) where meanders, latticework, human figures, snakes, turtle heads, owls, and masks of the god Chaac alternate. Here you can observe the sound and light spectacle of Uxmal in which Mayan legends are narrated.

 

You can also see el Juego de Pelota (The Ball Game), la Gran Pirámide (The Great Pyramid), El Palomar (The Dovecote), la Casa de la Vieja (The House of the Old Woman), El Cementerio (The Cemetery) and el Templo de los Falos (Temple of the Phallus).