Chichen Itza & Cenote Ik Kil Mexico

Our trip to Mexico brings us a highlight on the second day: Chichen Itza, Grand Cenote, Cobá, and more cenotes. The day starts at 6 AM. If you're thinking, 'What? Are they crazy to wake up at 6 AM on vacation?','No, because we still have jet lag and are awake anyway. In our wonderful accommodation, we specially ordered an early breakfast that we have brought directly to our cabana.

We booked our taxi driver from yesterday in Tulum to take us to the more famous and lesser-known cenotes. Plus, we can be ahead of the other tourists at Chichen Itza. Perfect, right?

So we set off at 6:30 AM. After all, we want to be at Chichen Itza-the most significant ruins site on the Mexican Yucatán Peninsula-before the buses arrive.

Chichen Itza itself belongs to the late Maya culture and when speaking with locals, one doesn't get the feeling that these ruins are truly important. By the way, the name 'Chichen Itza' means: 'At the edge of the well of the Itzá'.

Waking up early is really worth it; you avoid the tourist crowds and almost have the site to yourself. The crowds start coming around 10 AM, along with the sun and heat.

It's about 1.5 hours drive from Mérida and about 2 hours from Cancún.

The entrance fee is: $125 plus $57.

Opening hours of Chichen Itza: Open 365 days a year from 9 AM to 5 PM.

Plan for about 2 hours for the visit.

Climbing the pyramid 'El Castillo' is prohibited.

The light show is daily at 7 PM in autumn and winter, and at 8 PM in spring and summer.

If you want to continue your journey from Chichen Itza by ADO bus, you can store your luggage right on site.

After the visit, we have lunch in the town of 'Chichen Itza' (mainly for large groups and not recommended) and enjoy a traditional dance performance. We then head to the first cenote, 'Ik Kil'.

Don't want to take the bus or drive yourself? Then book this sunrise tour with Get Your Guide.

If you arrive before the typical tourist bus hours, you can explore this world wonder without many other people and enjoy it at your own pace. Really cool! So be there before 10 AM, as that's when the annoying vendors also start to arrive.

To explore the entire site, you will need about 2 hours. The area is really large: The official size is stated as 1547 hectares. Hence, Chichén Itzá is one of the largest archaeological sites in Yucatán (Map at Wikipedia).

The large step pyramid 'El Castillo' in the center of the site, unfortunately, is closed for climbing, stands out clearly. Too many package tourists have apparently fallen to their deaths when intoxicated. There have been fatalities.

However, I must also mention that even when sober, climbing such temples is not without danger. I have pictures and videos (to follow, I still need to review) from Tikal Palenque, so you can get a rough idea.

Further images from Chichen Itza, the Ball Court, Temple of the Tables, Thousand Columns:

If you are already at Chichen Itza, you should consider exploring the surrounding cenotes.

If you wonder what a cenote is: Round limestone holes filled with fresh water, usually having underground caves. There are countless of them in Yucatán and they are supposedly THE tourist attraction. Everyone talks about 'Cenotes'.

The locals take great pride in them, and the cenotes in Mexico are likely part of one of the largest underground cave systems in the world. So far, only 1,055 kilometers have been explored. It is estimated that the 'River of the Maya' tunnels throughout the entire peninsula.

Cenotes were sacred to the Mayans. They used the water for drinking but never bathed in their sacred wells. Their most precious treasures were virgins (purity?), who were also sacrificed here. This is why divers continually find human bones while exploring the labyrinths. The Mayans also believed that cenotes opened the door to the underworld...

The Cenote 'Ik Kil' was selected by Red Bull for the Red Bull Cliff Diving in 2011. Not without reason. This somewhat more famous cenote is located about 3 km from Chichen Itza near the town of Pisté and costs us $70 to enter. We decide to only take photos for now and not go swimming, as we are still too full and sluggish from lunch.

A tunnel with stairs goes down to the bottom, and along the way, you can enjoy the view from several platforms. The water is very clear, and you can see small fish swimming in it. The cenote is 17 meters deep, and the opening above is a collapsed limestone cave roof. The water depth is 46 meters, wow!

Don't forget your swimwear! For non-swimmers, life vests are available. Changing rooms, showers, and toilets, as well as a restaurant, are also available.

Since Valladolid is on our way anyway, we take a short stop at the Zócalo, walk across the square, and continue on. It reminds me very much of Camagüey, Cuba.

Here in Cobá, there is also a ruins site and for us, the first one that we are allowed to climb. In the heyday of the Maya, Cobá was supposedly one of the largest Maya cities in Yucatán, which was abandoned for reasons still unknown by the time the Spaniards arrived.

Our plan is thwarted for the first time: It's October, and monsoon rains can often derail plans. Sadly, this happens here too. Upon entrance to Cobá, our guide Juan notices that the lake-in which crocodiles live-is completely flooded and half the town is underwater. To make matters worse, a torrential rain is falling that simply won't stop.

After waiting for 10 minutes and discussing, we decide: It makes no sense to visit and climb the ruins now. Too steep, slippery, and simply too wet. With a heavy heart-I would have really liked to climb under different circumstances-we head to two other lesser-known cenotes.

It's still raining. No matter, we are going to get wet anyway. The two cenotes each have 2 meters more water than usual; we seem to be stuck in a rain hole. A tarantula is also 'stuck' on a beam and cannot move through the water (I wouldn't find out until later that these animals can jump, as I was getting close with the GoPro).

At the entrance, we learn that one cenote is not accessible due to heavy rain (Choo-Ha y). The ticket for the two cenotes costs $70. Changing rooms, showers, and toilets are available everywhere.

Images from 'Nu Hun Ha' and the platform that is normally out of the water:

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