Chichen Itza really is a marvel. After our field trip to Mexico I was struck by how incredibly complex, and detail oriented the Mayans were when constructing Chichen Itza . We did a fair amount of reading, watching documentaries and researching Chichen Itza on line before our trip. We quickly came to realize a lot of the information we had obtained was either outdated or just wrong. When visiting Chicen Itza it is important to understand it is an ongoing archaeological sight. It continues to be excavated and as they excavate they learn more and make new connections that give us a better picture of the ancient Mayans. At the entrance to Chichen Itza you can hire a tour guide for around eighty dollars. We talked to several guides and chose a gentleman named Abel because he seemed nice and spoke excellent English. It was a very well spent eighty dollars. One tool Abel used that really made the tour wonderful for the kids was an ipad. Because Chichen Itza is a ruin it was really helpful for the kids to see artist renderings of what it would have looked like. In addition because the Mayans built everything with such mathematical insight it was helpful to have visual aids for the math and the calendar.
We also were interested to learn that the cenote (sink hole) at Chichen Itza was probably not used for human sacrifice. This was contrary to many of the books we had read. Abel presented a very well thought-out argument that definitely left us thinking that as wonderful as books are nothing can replace actually visiting an archaeological sight and interfacing with tour guides that make Chichen Itza their life’s study.
Make sure you give yourself ample time to walk around Chichen Itza. The pyramid is one small part of this once great city. I also recommend bringing lots of cold water, sunscreen, and a hat.
Make sure you also take time to clap in front of the great pyramid (you need to be in the right spot between the pyramid and the platform). The reverberation makes the sound of the sacred quetzal bird.