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Presented nightly, the show features an imagined history of Chichén Itzá, while the main temples are dramatically lit in changing colors.

The awesome great pyramid actually encloses an older pyramid, which is accessed via a narrow staircase from the top of the Castillo. Carvings, panels, levels, and the 365 steps are all symbols of the intricate Mayan calendar.

Built in AD 864, this is the biggest ancient ball court in Mexico (see The Ball Game). It has exceptional carvings and remarkable acoustics – a normal voice can be heard from each end of the court.

Visited by Mayan pilgrims over centuries, the giant natural cenote or sinkhole (see Tulum), has yielded jewelry, sculptures, and animal bones.

The squat temple opposite the Castillo was used in city rituals. In front of it are ranks of pillars, each intricately carved with portraits of important figures in the Chichén elite.

The forest of pillars around a giant quadrangle once supported wood and palm roofs. This was the main place for doing business in Chichén: for buying, selling, and voicing disputes.

Almost like a smaller prototype of the later Castillo, this pyramid has an inscription with the date of its completion: June 20, 842. It gets its name from a tomb excavated at its foot, which cannot be visited.

The observatory is also called El Caracol (“snail”) because of its odd round shape. Three slots in its top level point due south and toward the setting sun and moon on the spring and autumn equinoxes.

The Spaniards thought this group of buildings was a nunnery, but experts now believe it formed the main residential and administrative area for Chichén’s lords in the city’s first years. The buildings are covered in spectacular carvings.

Chichén Itzá covered a much wider area than is seen at the monumental core. A path leads south to Chichén Viejo – a part-excavated site in the woods, which is as old as the central plazas.