The ancient Mayan city of Ichkabal – an archaeological site that is larger and has three more pyramids than Chichén Itzá Temple of Kukulcán — is set to become one of Mexico’s biggest tourist attractions when it opens to the public next month.
Although Ichkabal was discovered nearly 30 years ago, this is the first time visitors have been allowed to enter one of the oldest Mayan archaeological sites in Mexico.
Located in the southeastern state of Quintana Roo, in the middle of the jungle, 43 kilometers from Bacalar, Ichkabal is not as easily accessible from cities like Cancún, Tulum and Mérida as its more famous counterpart Chichén Itzá.
But with its towering structures that have earned it the nickname “Mesoamerican Egypt,” Ichkabal offers an unparalleled glimpse into a city that played a crucial role in the early development of Mayan civilization. And government officials promise easier access once work is completed on the stations of the Mayan Train under construction in Bacalar and Chetumal.
With an area of 30 square kilometers – three times the size of Chichén Itzá – Ichkabal is one of the largest surviving archaeological sites in Mexico and one of the oldest testimonies of the Mayan culture.
The site is tentatively scheduled to open to the public on September 14.
Currently, work is underway on transportation options from the Mayan train station in Bacalar, which is not yet completed. However, the journey from Bacalar station takes about an hour and 45 minutes along small jungle roads.
The site is also 81 kilometers (50 miles) from Quintana Roo’s capital, Chetumal, but the drive from the Chetumal station, which is still under construction, takes about two hours and 30 minutes.
In addition, work on the southern portion of Section 5 of the Maya Train – which will connect Quintana Roo’s northern resorts with Bacalar and Chetumal in the south – was only about 65-70% complete as of earlier this week.
Buenos Dias! With great emotion I read this #Ichkabal I would quickly expand the economic growth and infrastructure on the island #QRoo pic.twitter.com/aDQ3Tezc4U
— Carlos Joaquín (@CarlosJoaquin) 26 July 2017
Some pictures of the soon-to-be-opened Ichkabal, one of Mexico’s oldest Mayan archaeological sites, discovered in 1995 but only now opening to the public. (Mexico’s Ambassador to Canada Carlos Joaquin/Twitter)
Nevertheless, Alan Maciel Vallejo, a researcher at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), predicts that Ichkabal will attract a significant number of visitors, including cruise ship passengers from Mahahual (almost three hours away by car).
Chichén Itzá, wrote the newspaper El País, “has new competition.”
The most visited archaeological site in Mexico, Chichén Itzá, had 2.3 million visitors in 2023 and 1.18 million in the first half of 2024.
Ichkabal remained hidden beneath the jungle canopy until its discovery in 1995.
Since then, archaeologists have been working to uncover and preserve the monumental buildings, which were built between 350 BC and 50 BC.
The site’s complex buildings and sophisticated hydraulic systems – such as a recently discovered cistern for storing water and grain – underscore the city’s importance as a political and cultural center.
The restoration of the site was part of the Archaeological Sites Improvement Program (Promeza), a government initiative to preserve and promote Mexico’s rich cultural heritage. With the support of the Ministry of Defense (Sedena), archaeologists are working feverishly to have the site open soon.
It is perhaps worth noting, however, that the word “soon” was used in a Mexico News Daily headline nearly two years ago when Forecasts suggested that Ichkabal would be open to the public in mid-2023.
But archaeology fans have options while they wait: At the beginning of the year the Chichén Itzá Maya Museum opensas well as a new museum at the archaeological site of Edzná in the state of Campeche. And Iast year, a newly excavated complex in the archaeological zone of Uxmal in Yucatán opened to the public.
In addition, the Yaxchilan site in Chiapas – in the Lacandon jungle near the border with Guatemala – reopened earlier this year after being closed for five months due to cartel violence in the region.
With reports from El Pais And News Quintana Roo
