Chi' ch'e'en its ja'

Chichén Itzá was one of the great cities of northern Yucatán, built around natural sinkholes that provided water and places of ritual. Its monumental centre includes the stepped pyramid of Kukulcán, the Great Ball Court and the Temple of the Warriors. Carved figures, columns and buildings display the city’s wide connections across Mesoamerica, while the Sacred Cenote received offerings from generations of Maya worshippers.

The city’s political fortunes changed after the height of its power. Later Maya chronicles preserved accounts of its rulers and conflicts, even as new centres rose elsewhere in the peninsula. When Bishop Diego de Landa visited in 1556, he encountered largely abandoned monuments and recorded traditions associated with them. The temples and sacred waters remained a powerful reminder of a city whose influence had reached far beyond its immediate surroundings.