Get ready! Here comes the autumn equinox!, A marvelous spectacle that can only be seen in Chichen Itza Archaeological Zone, only three hours from Cancun. This is a true event. A natural phenomenon that occurs on 21/22 March and September every year, on the pyramid of Kukulkan, shaking the hearts of hundreds of tourists coming from all over the world, arriving early at Chichen Itza archaeological site  to experience this magical experience that thrills their hearts. The equinox is a natural spectacle that begins when the first shadows of the higher bodies of the Kukulcan pyramid begins to draw isosceles triangles making up the body of a feathered serpent, giving the appearance as if it were descending from the northwest of the pyramid of Castillo (or Kukulcan), one of the most incredible structures of the Mayan ruins in Chichen Itza. When this light and shadow effect reaches the head of the snake at bottom of the pyramid, the spectators stand up and raise their hands to heaven to absorb all the energy emanating from this fantastic phenomenon . Although the equinox at Chichen Itza Archaeological Site officially occurs on March 21 and September 21, this phenomenon can be seen from a few days before and few days later, so if you want to avoid large crowds caused by this event, you can take some of the Chichen Itza tours these days. Generally, the feathered serpent descend in the Castle of Chichen Itza, is around 4 pm and takes about 45 minutes to complete, however being able to appreciate well,  depends on the weather  conditions.

As of March 29, 2010, the 83 hectares of the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, a ranch that belonged to Mr. Barbachano before and and was managed by the INAH, became a federal property of the state of Yucatan and now it is administered by CULTUR. With this acquisition, begins a macro project called Chichén 2020 Central Park which is planned to include 12 five-star hotels, a convention center, water parks, artificial lakes, a golf course and shopping malls. This project sounds great to attract international  tourists who are already awaiting but it has already caused some reactions within the scientific and intellectual communities who, disagree with the exploitation of the archaeological site of Chichen Itza. They argue that CULTUR has been misusing the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza even before they owned this site,  which is meant to be respected as a world heritage. It has been used as stage for mega concerts that have recently been organized at the foot of these majestic Mayan pyramids. What will happen now that CULTURE is the sole owner of these properties?.

It is known that at present, CULTUR charges a separate admission fee to the INAH, and therefore visitors have to pay double entry in the cost of trips to Chichen Itza, making Chichen Itza Archaeological Site one of the most expensive attractions in the country and if that were not enough, as of September 1 shall enter into force  an increase in admission fees to Chichen Itza Archaeological Site and Uxmal as it was reported by the director of CULTUR, Jorge Esma Bazán.

The offocial amount was approved by the tourism industry and even by the INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History), a dependency of Mexico’s federal government supposedly dedicated to the preservation, protection and dissemination of archaeological and historical areas of the Mexican nation.

The ruins of Chichen Itza archaeological site in the state of Yucatan, Mexico, are  internationally famous. Chichen Itza was a place of great importance since it was the political and religious center of the ancient Mayans, in the ninth century AD and until today, it is full of wonders to the eyes of all who visit it.

Whether Spanish explorers led by Francisco de Montejo or a battalion of national and foreign tourists, everyone is puzzled by the majesty of Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza.

It was called a World´s Heritage Site in 1988 by UNESCO and turned into one of the  New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007.

Unfortunately, not everything is fame to Chichen Itza, Mexico. Behind all this grandeur and mysticism, Chichen Itza ruins suffer matters like, excessive and uncontrolled tourism, damage to structures, street trading, conflicts with individuals, exploration subject to budget and uneven economic gains.

With the inclusion of Chichen Itza, Mexico  in the group of the New 7 Wonders of the world, the tourism sector, invested over a million dollars on promoting the site, hoping to double the number of visitors to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. However, the ruins at Chichen Itza Archaeological Site were not designed to receive that many people, therefore, part of the management plan for the area is the implementation of some measures to prevent deterioration. For example, in the past, tourists were able to climb the pyramid of Kukulcan or El Castillo in Chichen Itza and be photographed sitting on the sculpture of Chac Mool, which now is no longer allowed.

The only source of income for the area of Chichen Itza, Mexico  is tourism, so the hallway leading from the esplanade of El Castillo to the Sacred Cenote (Sinkhole) is a flea market which sells food, clothing and crafts. But also inside the zone is invaded by hundreds of vendors and in dates like the spring equinox, there are about a thousand vendors, as a result of a lack of alternative sources of employment in the area.

With the tourist promotion of the ruins of Chichen Itza Archaeological Site, there was a big financial investment with the expectation of doubling the number of visitors, benefiting the private sector and INAH, but not quite to the local population.

Part of the land where Chichen Itza ruins are belongs to the Barbachano family, so INAH is seeking to regularize the land ownership. The INAH is negotiating with the family to acquire the land through donation or expropriation. The family demanded a percentage of Chichen Itza archaeological site tickets.

Despite its fame,  Chichen Itza ruins still hides many secrets. In 1993, the federal government provided nearly five million pesos for a large project in an archaeological research and restoration on public buildings, restoration of mural paintings, stucco and wood elements in Chichen Itza Ruins. The excavations have not stopped although resources have diminished. Work continues on the maintenance and upkeep of buildings, paintings and roads at the expense of the budget.

The ruins at Chichen Itza archaeological site, in Mexico  were an important city in the state of Yucatan, where the ancient Maya culture was settled down around the years 435 and 455. Chichen Itza means on the edge of the well of the Itza.

There haven´t been many cultures as the Maya. The Maya were especially great astronomers, artists, architects and mathematicians. They built large cities in Mexico such as Uxmal, Sayil, Chichen Itza or Kabah, with majestic Mayan pyramids, which now represent an important cultural heritage, worthy of visiting. They invented the zero, an extremely important concept in mathematics. By some estimates, the calendar used by the Maya was more accurate than the Europeans when they arrived in America. Another significant achievement is that the Maya civilization was one of the three civilizations that invented a complete system of writing, through Mayan glyphs.

The history of knowledge of Maya writing begins with the Franciscan Friar Diego de Landa. A Spanish priest, difficult to understand: on the one hand, ordered the burning of a large number of Maya codices when he came to settle in Yucatan land, but on the other hand, wrote a book critical to the understanding of Maya culture in Yucatan, for which he was blamed and was ordered to return to Spain where he wrote his famous book Relación de cosas de Yucatán, which, in addition to the wealth of information about Mayan culture, provides valuable insight into his writing, and that you copied Maya glyphs describing some sounds. Also drew, the signs of the 20 days and 19 months of the Mayan calendar.

After a long time, Ernst Forstemann in 1886, came to understand the counting system based on 20,  used by the Maya to record dates and thus not only able to read the calendar computations of the codices, but also of the steles and other monuments of the Maya area.

Another important step in deciphering Maya writing, was given by the Russian Yuri Knorozov in 1952. Who compiled Landa´s information and could read phonetically certain glyphs that represent syllables. At first, his research was not accepted at all, because many researchers thought that Maya writing was only ideographic, but time has proved Knorozov was right.

1958, Heinrich Berlin, noted that a glyph is placed at the end of many of the Mayan texts and that the main element of the glyph, varied from place to place, so he concluded that the component related to a particular site, or the ruling dynasty there. These glyphs have been called glyphs, and emblems have been identified in most of the central Mayan hieroglyphics have monuments.

The next step was the article published in 1960 by Tatiana Proskouriakoff, which showed the historical context of the Maya inscriptions that, for a long time, it was believed were essentially calendaric. The researcher noted that compared to some temples were placed stelae groups whose dates coincided with the normal life span of a ruler and began to read the glyphs indicative of the birth and rise of the kings to the throne.

Currently, much work to fully understand the Maya script (consisting of about 700 signs), but day by day, progress is made to yield valuable insight into that culture.

Ask your travel agents about the available tours to Chichen Itza to know more about the Mayan Glyphs.

You can live the fascinating experience of the Spring Equinox 2010 in the ruins of Chichen Itza archaeological site each year. The equinox at Chichen Itza is a unique phenomenon in the world. On one of the balustrades of the stairs of the Kukulcan pyramid, a light and shadow effect simulates a Feathered Serpent, who represents the God Kukulcan, descending.

Although the spring equinox at Chichen Itza occurs on March 21, the phenomenon can be seen from the day before and the day after, so you can avoid the crowds that this event causes each yea, attending a day before or a day after.

Generally the descent of the feathered serpent on the Kukulcan Pyramid or El Castillo at Chichen Itza, occurs around 4 pm and takes about 45 minutes. If there are no clouds the effect is fully visible.

Chichen Itza Tours leave daily, but especially when the equinox, they extend their stay to leave the tourists admire this interesting phenomenon.

 
If you’re on vacation in Cancun or the Riviera Maya to the date of the spring equinox, visit this wonderful Mayan archaeological site and marvel at this spectacle of light and shadow in Chichen Itza.

Chichen Itza Tours include transportation, meals, guide and visit a sinkhole (cenote). There are also tours to Chichen Itza with night light show and sound, which is the narration of the history of Chichen Itza animated with colored lights projected on the pyramids giving the evening a cultural mystical touch.

Book one of the tours to Chichen Itza in time to guarantee your place.