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Mexico

Chichén Itzá

The Serpent Pyramid
Lost Cities & RuinsSacred Cities
Gateway town: Mérida
Portrait

El Castillo has ninety-one steps on each of four sides plus the top platform — three hundred and sixty-five — and twice a year the equinox sun throws a serpent of shadow down its northern balustrade. Be there at opening, before the Cancún coaches, see the ball court where the acoustics carry a whisper the length of the field, and leave by eleven.

Nearby in the atlas
Mérida — White City of Yucatán
If you like this city
Abu Simbel, Egypt — The Moved TemplesAjanta, India — The Painted CavesAngkor, Cambodia — The Temple Sea
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