The details: Maya ruins in Yucatán

📋 The sheer number of Maya ruins in Yucatán is just astounding and there are bound to be plenty more yet undiscovered, and hiding in the forests.

⭐️ Yucatán is so flat that they say that every time you see a hill, it’s most likely an un-excavated Maya ruin not yet ‘discovered’.

🗒️ INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia) controls almost the all ruins and many museums in Mexico. They set the prices and the opening times.

🗓️ Maya ruins are open 8 am to 5 pm every day and Mexican residents can enter for free on Sundays.

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How to visit the Maya ruins in Yucatán

🚗 The easiest way to visit is with your own transport. If you plan on exploring then I highly recommend renting a car.

→ Read the full MexicoCassie guide to getting around Mérida

→ Read the MexicoCassie guide to renting cars and driving in Yucatán

→ Check rental car prices & options now

TOP TIP: When using a GPS be careful when inputting/selecting your ruin destination: you’ll be looking for “Zona Arqueologica de xxx”. Otherwise there’s a good chance you’ll wind up in a village with the same name as your ruin.

🚍 Public transport is available between the big cities and small towns. If you know which town your ruin is near then you could take a colectivo (minibus) and ask the driver to let you off nearby. Of course, this requires more time as you’re at the mercy of bus timetables.

🚊 The Maya Train offers transport around the region

Visiting Maya ruins in Yucatán

We’ll begin with the most famous five ruins in the state. If you’ve already visited them, and are interested in checking out some of the less well known ruins, you’ll find them here

The big names, the stars of the show

The biggest Maya ruins in Yucatán are, of course, Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, and Dzibilchaltun. Ek Balam and Izamal are fairly well known so they’re included in this section too.

⭐️ You’ll easily be able to find tours to these well-known sites.

⭐️ Generally the bigger name sites are more expensive to visit than the lesser known locations (except Izamal, which is free).

Chichén Itzá

🚾 🛍 🌮 💦

📌 Chichén Itzá is both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the seven modern wonders of the world. And yes, it’s stunning and really shouldn’t be missed. It’s one of the most visited sites on the whole Yucatán Peninsula for a good reason.

Chichén Itzá was one of the most powerful Maya cities that ever existed.

The Chichén Itzá site is huge and there’s a lot to take in in just one day. Apart from Kukulkan/El Castillo (above), you can’t miss the ball courts (there are 13, one of which is the largest in the whole of Mesoamerica), the Thousand Columns Complex, the Warriors’ Temple and two cenotes.

If you hire a guide, ask them to tell you about the sacrifices in these cenotes – my most recent guide here was clear that the bodies found in the cenotes were thrown in after death, not before.

The main draw of Chichén Itzá is the perfectly restored pyramid (known as El Castillo in Spanish and the Pyramid of Kukulcan in Mayan). This pyramid was constructed around 800 CE, and within the pyramid is a smaller pyramid that was built many years before the one you see today. And, within this smaller pyramid, archaeologists found a stone sculpture of Chac Mool and a throne made in the form of a jaguar.

The same guide told my group that they have also realised that there is a cenote under this pyramid but as yet not that much is known except that it’s there and that the Maya people knew exactly what they were doing when they built over it.

Top Tip: If you’re lucky enough to visit Chichén Itzá on an equinox, be sure to take note of the snake shadow that appears to descend (or ascend) the 365 steps of El Castillo.

Top tips for visiting Chichén Itzá

⭐️ If you can, arrive early as Chichén Itzá is never not busy. You’ll need to be prepared for crowds if you can’t get there early.

🛍️ There are a lot of vendors inside the Chichén Itzá complex, more every time I visit, honestly. Stop and browse, chat and haggle politely. I have had many great conversations with the sellers here, they are always friendly and interesting. And, please, don’t get stressed out by how many stalls there are. If you’re not interested in buying, no one is going to harass you. Lots of people do complain about the stalls but there’s really no problem, just offer a polite “no, thank you” and carry on with your day.

⭐️ Whether you visit Chichén Itzá as part of an organised tour or alone, do not forget to include a cenote swim in your day.

Note: You cannot climb anything at Chichén Itzá and as of April 2026, backpacks have been banned from the site. Small bags only are permitted. There are, according to the official website, lockers on site for both suitcases and backpacks.

Hotel recommendation near Chichén Itzá

⭐️ My favourite hotel to stay in when visiting Chichén Itzá has to be Hotel Chichén Itzá. It’s just one mile from the entrance, offers great views over the site and has a pool for when you return hot and dusty and tired.

Uxmal

🚾 🛍 🌮 💦

📌 About an hour’s drive from Mérida, one encounters the incredible Uxmal, which, like Chichén Itzá, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a beautiful site that is fast growing in popularity. We have been half a dozen times and each time we see more and more people there. Uxmal is a very popular option for people who can’t face the crowds of Chichén Itzá and only have a week or so in Yucatan.

Uxmal is regularly visited as a stand-alone site but it’s actually officially part of the Puuc route, a region of southern Yucatan where you can visit four sites (including Uxmal) and one set of caves – see below for more information.

The Sorcerer’s Pyramid / Pyramid of the Magician  (pictured above) is the first thing you see when entering the Uxmal site. It’s a huge and very striking pyramid, which was built over a long period of time with successive stages being covered over with newer ones. The long building you’ll see towards the back of this magnificent site is the Governor’s Palace.

Note: You can climb a few structures at Uxmal but watch out for signs telling you where not to climb.

Where is Uxmal?

Highway 261, approximately 80km from Mérida.

Hotel recommendation Near Uxmal

⭐️ Uxmal Resort Maya – I have not stayed here but this is the hotel everyone has told me about, raved about and made me long to visit. Next time I’m in the area I will be staying here.

Dzibilchaltun

🚾

📌 Dzibilchaltun, just outside Mérida, is a surprisingly large site. There are some 8,000 structures across 7.3 square miles but many of the structures are no longer visible as they were houses built of perishable materials that haven’t withstood the test of time. Dzibilchaltun is one of the oldest remaining Maya sites in Yucatán. Dzibilchaltun was also the longest continuously utilised Maya administrative and ceremonial city, in use from around 1500 BCE until it was conquered by the Spanish in around 1540 CE.

Easily the most famous building in Dzibilchaltun is the House of the Dolls (photo above). People gather to watch the sunrise twice a year at the solstices. It’s also one of the oldest Maya buildings known to date.

Dzibilchaltun means “Place where there is writing on flat stones”

There is a beautiful open cenote on-site but it’s sadly no longer permitted to swim here so leave your bathing suit at home unless you’re heading to the beach after.

Note: You can climb some of Dzibilchaltun but not all of it. Be sure to follow the rules, the staff are extremely officious here.

Where is Dzibilchaltun

Dzibilchaltun is located between Mérida and Progreso so if you’re staying in either town, it’s perfect for an easy trip.

Hotel recommendation near Dzibilchaltun

People tend to visit Dzibilchaltun while staying in Mérida, where there are a host of excellent hotels.

📌 Ek Balam is a smaller and less visited ruin to the north of Valladolid. Ek Balam means ‘Black Jaguar’ in Mayan.

This was the most important Maya city in the east of Yucatán. It was at its peak between 700 and 1200 CE. Ek Balam was abandoned in the eighth century and much of it is still covered with jungle but what has been excavated is wonderful. The highest structure is called the Acropolis and it’s possible to climb all the way to the top.

Ek Balam is particularly interesting because it’s a mishmash of styles, some of which are not normally found this far north (Chenes, Rio Bec – see my article about Campeche’s ruins for more information on these styles of Maya architecture).

Note: You can climb the structures at Ek Balam.

Where is Ek Balam?

Ek Balam is off highway 180 between Valladolid and Tizimin.

Hotel recommendation near Ek Balam

⭐️ My absolute favourite hotel when visiting Ek Balam is Genesis Eco-Oasis. This is right nearby, feels like you’re in the jungle and offers a trule local experience without compromising on quality.

⭐️ If you want to stay in Valladolid (the closest big city) then my favourite hotel is the Zentik Project, an adults only hotel with incredible subterranean and outdoor pools, gorgeous murals and a fab restaurant.

Izamal

🚾 🛍 🌮💦 (Izamal is a town so it has great facilities. The pyramid itself has no facilities)

📌 This famous yellow city and pueblo magico is home not only to a convent but also to three Maya pyramids, all easily accessible while you’re in town.

Izamal was once an important ceremonial centre for the Maya in Yucatan and over 80 pre-Hispanic structures have been found thus far including Kinich Kakmo pyramid, the third-largest pre-Hispanic structure in Mexico by volume.

Frey Diego de Landa described the largest of all the pre-Hispanic buildings of being so huge that from the top you could see all the way to the sea.

Also in Izamal is Itzamatul, a pyramid site that my kids just loved exploring and climbing over. Habuk is an interesting, small site, but there was no information on offer there. The last two in town are called Kabul and El Conejo. There is a sacbé (sacred path) linking Izamal with Ake although this is no longer visible.

Where is Izamal?

Izamal is a small town between Mérida and Valladolid. It’s easily accessible from both cities. 

Hotel recommendation in Izamal

⭐️ There are a few good hotels in and around Izamal.

The less well-known sites

Some of these sites are fairly easy to visit while others are obscure and deep in the Yucatán countryside. All are beautiful and all offer an extremely special opportunity to experience a Maya ruin in (near) solitude

Xcambo

🚾

📌 Just outside Progreso on the north Yucatan coast, this small site is well worth a visit. Every time I’ve been, the sign in book shows just a handful of visitors a day. Just look at how gorgeous it is, imagine having this whole site basically to yourself.

Xcambo is the biggest coastal Maya settlement. It was inhabited between 300 – 600 CE. This was a salt and salted fish distribution centre, supplying larger Maya sites with much-needed supplies. In fact, on your way to Xcambo you can visit the salt flats that are still in use today.

🦟 Do note that there are often more mosquitoes here than at other sites so just take some bug spray and it’ll be fine.

Note: You can climb structures at Xcambo.

Where is Xcambo?

Xcambo is just over the Dzemul-Xtampu bridge across the Laguna Rosada. If you’re coming from Progreso then it’s accessed via the 27.

Ake

One hour east of Merida, just past Tixkokob, is the barely known, but very impressive, archaeological site of Ake.

Despite its relative obscurity today, Ake was one of the most important sites in the north of Yucatán at its zenith, between 600 to 1200 CE. It was finally abandoned around the mid-fifteenth century.

Ake was a residential area and is particularly known for its Puuc style of architecture. It is thought that the large structure with many pillars probably supported one of the largest thatched and wooden roofs in the whole of Mesoamerica.

A sacbé leads from Ake to Izamal, an important pre-Hispanic city. Because Ake is located between Thó (pre-Hispanic Mérida) and Izamal, it is likely that Ake was a geographically important location.

Investigations into the area suggest the settlement is around 1.5sq miles large, centering on the Great Plaza.

Note: You can climb on the structures at Ake.

Where is Ake?

Ake is just outside Tixkokob, one hour east of Mérida.

Hotel recommendation near Ake

⭐️ You could stay in the lovely Hacienda Ticum to make your stay even more fabulous. We stayed there as a present from my parents and absolutely fell in love with the peaceful atmosphere and great evening meal.

Acanceh

🚾 (on site) 🌮 💦 in the town, not on site.

📌 You’ll probably drive through Acanceh town on the way to Homun, home of the famous cenote ring. I highly recommend stopping to spend a moment with this site.

Acanceh means ‘Call of the deer’ in Mayan and the site was never fully abandoned. The pyramid is situated right on one side of the pueblo’s plaza, making it a town pyramid, like those of the famous yellow city of Izamal.

The early pyramid here was built between 700 – 300 BCE and has some absolutely incredible masks (today, five, originally eight). There is a second pyramid built over the first but sections have been removed to allow people to view the masks. They are visible from platforms built around the top.

Apparently there are over 160 buildings that have been found via archaeological survey, but obviously not all have been uncovered. There is a second, climbable pyramid on-site, too.  The Palace of the Stuccoes is a few hundred metres away.

Where is Acanceh?

Acanceh is a short drive from Mérida, around 45 minutes by car along highway 18. It makes a good stop off on the way to Homun’s cenote circle or the famous Santa Barbara cenotes.

The Ruta Puuc

Because the Ruta Puuc sites tend to be visited in a block all in one day, I shall deal with them more or less as a group. The most important thing to know about the Ruta Puuc is that the sites are gloriously under-visited, which is great for you if you’re excited about visiting archaeological sites and really feeling their magic and atmosphere. Personally, there is little I love more than exploring a deserted Maya ruin.

Puuc is the Mayan word for hills and although you’d be forgiven for laughing at the idea of hills in Yucatan, it is slightly hillier here than anywhere else in the state.

The Ruta Puuc sites are:

📍 Kabah: Kaba was inhabited for around 200 years between 750 – 950 CE and was an important city in the area. It’s the closest of all the Ruta Puuc sites to Uxmal and the site is split by the road. Be sure to visit both sides. It is thought there was also a sacbé (elevated road) between Kabah and Uxmal in one direction and Labná in the other.

📍 Sayil: My favourite of the Puuc sites. It is best known for its huge Palacio (apparently 85 m long) and its enormous expanse of grass in front. We also explored other sections of this site, which require a willingness to walk around. We checked out El Mirador and Grupo Sur.

📍 Xlapak: Xpalak means ‘old walls’ in Mayan. The architecture here is very typical of this region.

📍 Labná: Labná was a small population site dating from around 750 – 1000 CE. It is a truly stunning place and well worth a visit. Most people interested in Maya sites will have seen photos of El Arco (below), an arch that once will have separated two buildings. Labna was built in the purest Puuc style. In Mayan, Labna means ‘old house’.

There are more photos of the incredible Ruta Puuc sites here

Where is the Ruta Puuc

From Mérida, head out on the 261 towards Uxmal and Santa Elena. On the left you will see a turning for the Ruta Puuc. Just before the Campeche border is a left turn to the Ruta Puuc sites (Kabah is actually on the 261 before the turning).

Chacmultun

📌Chacmultun is located in the hilly southern Yucatan near the pueblo magico of Tekax. It boasts a view out over the plains of the north as well as to the southern region. Chacmultun was built in the Puuc style.

The site was inhabited from 300 BCE and it peaked between 600 and 1000 CE. It ceased to be occupied until around 1500 CE.

Like so many other sites in Yucatan, water was a primary concern. In this area, rainwater was collected in ‘chultuns’ (sartenejas in Spanish and cisterns in English). There are no cenotes around here for easy access to water. It is thought that Chacmultun was a paper producing site.

If you look over the hill on your left you’ll see a perfect-looking Maya building. We didn’t get to it although we did drive as close as we could but it was hot and we had an appointment in Tekax so didn’t have time to climb up the hill. I wish we had though.

It feels as if Chacmultun (according to my kids) goes on forever. They felt as if they could explore and never find the end. I particularly love the walk from the carpark to the main site because the view is completely framed by flamboyan trees and it is magnificent.

Where is Chacmultun?

Chacmultun is twenty minutes from Tekax along the Carretera Kanek. Drive through Kanek/Canek and follow signs in Kancab towards Chacmultun. It’s two hours from Merida if you’re coming straight from there.

Oxkintok

📌 Oxkintok is not on the radar of most visitors to Yucatán. However, if you’re looking for a quiet site where you’re almost guaranteed not to have to share it with others, then it could be just what you’re looking for.

Oxkintok is one of the very oldest Maya ruins there is. On-site you can see a variety of different architectural styles, which apparently tells us a lot about influences from other areas.

Where is Oxkintok?

It is about one hour 15 minutes from Mérida to Oxkintok. To get there take the 180 south and go through the town of Maxcanú.

Isla Los Cerritos

📌 Just off the coast of San Felipe on the north Yucatan coast, is Isla Cerritos. This island was once enormously important to the Maya who lived in Chichén Itzá. It was control of this island that allowed them to control the Gulf trade routes.

Today, there is nothing historical to see. You can’t walk on the island and the 32 pyramids that were found on the island have been reburied and the artefacts taken to museums. The island is in a biosphere and it really belongs to the thousands of birds who live on it.

Where is Isla Los Cerritos?

The 176 to Tizimin from Merida towards Río Lagartos and then drive along the Carretera for San Felipe until you hit town. Hire a guide and lancha (boat) to take you to the island.

Mayapan – remains closed in early 2026

🚾 (head into the nearby village if you need snacks and drinks)

❌ Check with locals if it’s open before you visit as it’s been closed for a while now due to land disputes

📌 Mayapan’s heyday was between 1220s-1440s, just before the arrival of the invading Spanish, when it was the political and cultural capital of the Maya people. It was abandoned during the 15th century, probably following a violent struggle.

It had been suggested that there was an alliance between the societies of Mayapan, Chichén Itzá and Uxmal but recent research implies that this site developed later and actually dominated many regions in the north of the peninsula. It was probably the last major Maya city.

The main structure at Mayapan is the Pyramid of Kukulcan, which is similar to the pyramid at Chichen Itza, just smaller (and less well reconstructed). It stands almost 20m tall.

Be sure to find The Observatory (El Caracol), an unusual round building, unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere.

Mayapan is one of my absolute favourite archaeological sites in Yucatán. I just hope it reopens one day and that you can visit, too.

Note: You can climb the pyramid and many other structures here.

Where is Mayapan?

Highway 18 around 40km from Merida. Be sure to head to Mayapan the archaeological site, not Mayapan the village as they’re not the same thing.

Maya Ruins In Yucatan: Other

• Yaxuna: a small site near Valladolid that is linked, by sacbé, to Coba.
• Kuluba:  Just outside Tizimin on the way to Las Coloradas and El Cuyo is Kuluba. I haven’t yet visited and believe it only opened to visitors in 2018.
• There are another ruins across the state and even in Mérida that remain unrestored.