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Once upon a time there was a little newsboy who was very, very poor and he only sold old newspapers because he didn't have enough money for new ones. People didn't by his newspapers because they were all so out of date, and they wanted new newspapers. So the little newsboy never sold any, and every day he accumulated more and more old newspapers. What the little newsboy did was put up a paper recycling plant, and he became a millionaire, bought out all the newspaper businesses and the news agencies, prohibited publishing current news, and thus obliged people to read only news of the past. In the papers on sale today, for example, you'd read that the Zapatistas are about to arrive in Mexico City and that they'll meet with the Villistas there. You can't quite make out the date, but it seems to either 1914 or 1997.

Tale of the Little Seamstress Once upon a time, there was a little seamstress who sewed mightily on his sewing machine. The other machines in his neighborhood laughed at him, and shouted: "Fairy! Only old women are streamstresses!" So the little seamstress sewed shut the mouths of everyone who made fun of him. That is why, to this day, we do not know how the story ended, because no one could tell it.

I N A H Mexican Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History known as INAH for its Spanish abbreviation) is the federal government bureau established in 1939 to guarantee the research, preservation, protection, and promotion of the prehistoric, archaeological, anthropological, historical, and paleontological heritage of Mexico. This bureau is responsible for the over 110 thousand historical monuments, built between the 16th and 19th centuries, and for 29 thousand archaeological zones found all over the country, although is it estimated there must be 200 thousand sites with archaeological remains. Of these 29,000, 150 are open to the public.

CHICHEN ITZA TOUR

Chichen Itza Tour: With Transportation

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INCLUDES: Transportation on an air-conditioned bus, guide, entrance to the site, and buffet lunch.

Departure: Cancun
Rates: Adult $72.00, Child $36.00
Hours: Daily 7:00 am to 7:00 pm
Itineraries: Daily departures between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. from your hotel's main door. For hotels in dowtown Cancun your pick-up point is in front of the hotel Oasis America. The exact pick-up time will be confirmed after the reservation process. Returns at 7:00 p.m. to your hotel's main door or for the hotels in downtown Cancun in front of the hotel Oasis America.

Departure: Mayan Riviera
Rates: Adult $105.00, Child $45.00
Hours: Daily 7:00 am to 7:00 pm
Itineraries: Daily departures between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. from your hotel's main door. The exact pick-up time will be confirmed after the reservation process. Return to your hotel around 7:00 p.m.

Departure: Playa del Carmen
Rates: Adult $105.00, Child $59.00
Hours: Daily 7:00 am to 7:00 pm
Itineraries: Daily departures between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. from your hotel's main door. The exact pick-up time will be confirmed after the reservation process. Return to your hotel around 7:00 p.m.

Departure: Merida
Rates: Adult $56.00, Child $59.00
Hours: Daily 8:45 am to 6:00 pm
Itineraries: Daily departures between 8:45 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. from your hotel's main door. The exact pick-up time will be confirmed after the reservation process. Return to your hotel around 6:00 p.m.

Rates are in US Dollars
NOTE: Drinks at the buffet lunch are not included.

Climbing Up the Great Kukulcan Pyramid In 2006 an older lady fell from the great Kukulcan pyramid and unfortunately lost her life. Because of this incident INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia) has closed access to climbing the pyramid. Update: It would appear the restriction is not going to be lifted and climbing the pyramid is no longer possible.

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GENERAL TOUR INFO

If you are taking a video camera you must pay $5.00 extra to use it. You pay at the front gate at the ruin site. [You pay for the rights to video the park.] This does NOT apply to cameras.

Take a jacket/blanket/towel with you for the bus ride because the air-conditioning is always on "freezing".

It is safe to leave things like blankets, hats etc on the bus but we do not recommend leaving anything valuable. The bus driver will not let anyone who is not on the tour get on the bus so you do not have to worry about the bus driver or tour guide or any Mexican stealing anything. If anything goes missing it is another tourist.

At the ruin sites do NOT cross any marked lines or enter any restricted areas. Even if you think nobody is watching you we can guarantee that somebody "is".

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CHICHEN ITZA TOUR TIPS

Your tour bus first enters a large parking lot and lets you off. The front entrance has stores and restaurants where you can buy books, maps, videos and arts and crafts. This is where the public washrooms are as well.

Buy water at the entrance! The ONLY other place to buy water is at the cenote and depending on the rout your guide takes you on you may not hit it until late in your tour and you will be extremely thirsty by then.

Take lots of film with you. You cannot stop during your tour to go look for film but you can buy film, batteries and disposable cameras at the front gate.

Take a hat or an umbrella with you especially in the summer [June - August], it gets hot.

Better to ware hiking shoes over sandals if you want to climb up things. This is because your feet get all sweaty and it becomes easy to slip unless you have really tight well fitting sandals.

Bring a nap-sack to carry your stuff on your back.

Do NOT climb up the big Kukulcan pyramid if you are afraid of heights, suffer from vertigo or have any reservations. Do NOT let your friends or family talk you into it if you have the slightest apprehension. If you disregard this advice and some how manage to make it to the top you will be terrified.

There is an inner chamber in the Kukulcan pyramid. The steps that lead up to the chamber or extremely hard to climb and if you suffer from asthma or clostifobia then do NOT go in.

NOTE: If you are middle age or over and totally out of shape physically [like us] and decide to climb up and down the pyramids and temples during your tour keep in mind that you will feel it the next day. To climb the steps you use a lot of muscles you normally don't use and these muscles will become sore the next day if you over do it.

Keep an eye on your children at all times and warn them not to walk off into the jungle. There are many paths that just go straight into the jungle and they are very easy to get lost in. We speak from experience.

Bugs are not a problem but are more prevalent in the dry seasons. Take bug spray as a precaution.

Pay close attention to your guide and you will learn a lot about the Maya and Chichen Itza.

INTERESTING PHENOMINA

If you stand directly in front of the Kukulcan pyramid and clap your hands the echo is alleged to be that of the sacred Mayan bird known as the Quetzal.

In the Ballcourt, if you put one person at one end then stand at the opposing wall at the other end you "may" be able to hear the person whispering. This is stated as fact in numerous web sites however do the experiment and see for your self.

During the summer and winter equinox a shadow appears on the side of the steps of the Kukulcan Pyramid that resemble a snake.

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Chichen Itza Tour: With Transportation

Click here to Make Tour Reservation

TravelYucatan.com offers exciting guided tours to the following sites:

Chichen Itza Guided Tour
Coba Ruins Guided Tour
Tulum Ruins Guided Tour
Uxmal Guided Tour

Complete list of tours: ATTRACTIONS AND TOURS

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