Remnants of ancient civilisations still stand across Central America — and well-preserved temples and jungle-cloaked pyramids are open to visitors across southern Mexico.
Before the Spanish colonised Central America in the 16th century, the ancient Maya were one of the most sophisticated civilisations in the Western Hemisphere. They developed a complex calendar system through their knowledge of astrology and mathematics, used intricate hieroglyphics to record their history and built large, lavishly decorated cities, complete with pyramids, temples, and plazas.
At its height, the ancient Maya civilisation comprised 40 cities across Central America, spanning southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador and Nicaragua. In the southern Mexican states of Yucatán, Quintana Roo and Chiapas, many of these settlements — the largest housed up to 50,000 people — still stand today, offering visitors a unique insight into the social, cultural and religious lives of the ancient Maya.
From carefully reconstructed sites like Chichen Itza to the wild, jungle-clad pyramids and ceremonial temples of Calakmul, these are the ancient Maya ruins not to miss in southern Mexico.in Yucatán is Mexico’s most famous Maya ruin. Despite the crowds, few are disappointed with El Castillo — a carefully restored pyramid that rises up 80ft and has 365 steps — or the city’swas one of the last cities inhabited by the Maya and the only one built by the coast.
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