Uxmal

🏛️ Uxmal: the city of three buildings

📍 Location

• Located approximately 78 km south of Mérida, in the State of Yucatan, in the heart of the region known as Puuc, characterized by its gentle, fertile hills.
• The name Uxmal means in Mayan language “three times built”, in reference to the successive reconstructions of the city.

🧭 History and influence

• Uxmal reached its peak between 800 and 950 AD, during the Late Classic period.
• It was the capital of Xiu Kingdom, one of the most influential Mayan groups in the region.
• The city briefly formed an alliance with Chichen Itza, but retained a distinct architectural identity, focused on style Puuc.

🏯 Major architecture and monuments

Uxmal is famous for the finesse of its stone decorations, his sculpted facades, and its harmonious proportions :

• The Pyramid of the Soothsayer (Templo del Adivino) : emblematic structure with an oval base, 35 meters high, with rounded contours unusual in the Mayan world.
• The Nuns' Quadrangle : set of four richly decorated buildings, with geometric patterns, masks of the rain god Chac, and intertwined snakes.
• The Governor's Palace : masterpiece of the Puuc style, with more than 20,000 carved stones, representing jaguars, deities and glyphs.
• The Turtle House : small temple dedicated to Chac, where turtles symbolize rain and fertility.
• The Ball Game : ceremonial ground where ritual competitions took place.

🌿 Atmosphere and visitor experience

• The site is peaceful and majestic, often less frequented than Chichén Itzá, which allows a contemplative visit.
• The natural environment is verdant, with tropical birds, iguanas, and a golden light that enhances the stones at sunrise and sunset.
• The explanatory panels and the local guides allow for a better understanding of the symbols and functions of buildings.

🧬 Puuc style: signature of Uxmal

• The Puuc style is distinguished by :

• The sober bases and the richly decorated upper parts.
• The use of columns, of mosaic friezes, and of masks of deities.
• A technical mastery in the assembly of stones without mortar.

✨ Why Uxmal is unforgettable

It is a city where architectural elegance meet Mayan spirituality, where each facade tells a cosmogony, and where the silence of the stones dialogues with the sky of Yucatán. Uxmal is refined, mysterious and deeply poetic.