Can you climb Chichen Itza? if not what ruins can you?

Question

Can you climb Chichen Itza? if not what ruins can you?

Answer 1

Tourists weren't allowed on it when we went there last year.  I saw pictures of tourists on it though.  Maybe just certain times of the year?

Answer 2

jason h is correct, very few of the buildings at Chichen Itza are open to climbing. The famous "El Castillo" or the  temple of Kukulcan is certainly no longer open for tourist to climb. The observatory there is likely the most famous building that you can still climb.

It's still a very impressive site though, just bring a small pair of binoculars to look at the tops of the temples.

As for other sites that still allow climbing, many do at least to some degree.

Uxmal, you can't climb the famous Adivino or Pyramid of the Magician, but almost everything else including the Great Pyramid.

Itzamal is a very nice colonial town and has a large pyramid you can climb that gives you a great view of the town but apart from the size, the pyramid not very impressive as there is no exterior decoration remaining.

Coba as mentioned has a very large pyramid you can climb.

Also in the same region and very worth while are the ruins at Ek Balam and last time I was there a couple of years ago you could climb every building that had been cleared.

Because of the number of visitors, Chichen Itza and Tulum are the most limited in terms of accessibility but still, both sites are very worth seeing.

I assume that you are only interested in Mayan Ruins in the same general area, If not then email me and I'll give you a more extensive list.

Answer 3

No on Chichen Itza but the other ones I don't know. Most ruins throughout the world are closed to tourists because of the foot traffic and the scraping of backpacks on the walls. Its a pity.

Answer 4

When I was there 3 years ago one was allowed to, but their policy may have changed.  Maybe try contacting a travel agent or something along those lines.

Answer 5

You can no longer climb Chichen-Itza as of 2006, but you can still climb Coba's ruins. There are quite a few tours that go to Coba and it is much closer than Chichen-Itza from Cancun or Riviera Maya.

Check out playatrips.com, the Mayan Encounter Tour to Coba is fun. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

You could before, but I heard it was closed to tourist. You can go up the ruins in Tenochtitlan and Templo Mayor close to Mexico city, Tajin in Papantla...  I don't know about the others...