Which country has the best Mayan ruins?

Perhaps the country most famously associated with Mayan heritage, Mexico – more specifically, the Yucatan Peninsula – is packed with centuries-old landmarks, owing its historic pyramids to the Mayan trade route, which traversed the southeastern coast leaving a long-lasting impression.



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Chichen Itza, in the north, became what was probably the largest, most powerful and most cosmopolitan of all Maya cities. One of the most important cities in the Guatemalan Highlands at this time was Q'umarkaj, also known as Utatlán, the capital of the aggressive K'iche' Maya kingdom.

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The peoples and cultures which comprised the Maya civilization spanned more than 2,500 years of Mesoamerican history, in the Maya Region of southern Mesoamerica, which incorporates the present-day nations of Guatemala and Belize, much of Honduras and El Salvador, and the southeastern states of Mexico from the Isthmus ...

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Chichén-Itzá is the most famous and best restored Mayan site on the peninsula. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988 and one of the seven new wonders of the world. Both Chichen-Itza and Tulum are the most visited ruins in all of Mexico.

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The conquest of Mesoamerica by Spanish explorers and colonists began in the 1500s and was led primarily by Cortes in Mexico and Alvarado in Guatemala. The brutality of these Europeans in battling the Maya and Aztec peoples is legendary.

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The term “Maya,” while describing the Maya people as a larger cultural unit, also refers to the Mayan language family. The Maya don't actually speak Mayan. Rather, they speak Tsotsil, Mam, K'iche' or any of the various languages in the Mayan language family.

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The ruins of Chichén Itzá are federal property, and the site's stewardship is maintained by Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History).

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The majestic Teotihuacan is a must-see on any visit to Mexico. Located just 30 miles from Mexico City, this archaeological site is the most visited in Mexico, drawing visitors from far and wide. At its peak, it's believed that over 100,000 people lived in this ancient Mayan city that spanned just eight square miles.

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In the highlands of the Yucatan, a few Maya cities, such as Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Mayapán, continued to flourish in the Post-Classic Period (A.D. 900-1500).

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Our excavations showed that the main building of Aguada Fénix was probably built between 1050 and 750 BC. This structure is also the oldest monumental construction known so far in the Maya area. It was built before tall pyramidal constructions became common in the Maya area and other parts of Mesoamerica.

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The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking people who lived in central Mexico in the 14th to 16th centuries. Their tribute empire spread throughout Mesoamerica. The Maya people lived in southern Mexico and northern Central America — a wide territory that includes the entire Yucatán Peninsula — from as early as 2600 BC.

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