Monumental architecture in the Chenes style, the principal structure or Palace-Temple has a superb facade with designs of animals. Its inhabitants had incredible skills for supplying water to the community by drawing from two springs deep in caves as well as constructing a series of chultunes (…

Singular Maya city, small, rich and strongly hierarchical, it flourished 12 centuries ago. Two particular architectural styles dominate: Chenes and Puuc. Notable are the columns with circular base, well-braced false arches and vaulting, mosaics and masks with complicated filigree designs in…

An outstanding 1,000-year-old Puuc site that was capital of many surrounding settlements. It only has a few temples and palace structures, and no ball court, but Xcalumkin has an impressive number of hieroglyphic inscriptions about its rulers and other lower-ranked figures.

Monstrous serpent jaws are depicted at the entrance to the temples. This is associated with the Río Bec style, in which the horizontal takes precedence together with pairs of high, narrow towers crowned with small temples. The three towers in the Building of the Towers have been standing for…

A preeminent Maya city, the capital of the Chenes for 850 years, it began to decline a millennium ago. Its monumental architecture, sculpture and pottery are incomparable in the region. Jade, obsidian and salt were brought here from Guatemala, central Mexico and the Yucatan peninsula.