El Caracol, Chichen Itza

Name: El Caracol
Address: Chichen Itza, Chichen Itza, 97751, Mexico

#4 among attractions in Chichen Itza

Ruins, Observatories and planetariums, Museum, Historical place

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Facts and practical information

El Caracol, the Observatory, is a unique structure at pre-Columbian Maya civilization site of Chichen Itza. El Caracol, which means 'snail' in Spanish, is so named due to the spiral staircase inside the tower. ()

Alternative names: Coordinates: 20°40'45"N, 88°34'15"W

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Chichen ItzaChichen Itza 97751 Mexico

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Chichen Itza

Day trips

El Caracol – popular in the area (distance from the attraction)

Nearby attractions include: El Castillo, Balankanche, Sacred Cenote, Ik Kil.

~1530 ftNE
Maya temple in the shape of a pyramid
El Castillo, Chichen Itza
8 min walk • El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulcán, stands as a testament to the architectural and astronomical prowess of the ancient Maya civilization. Located in the heart of Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, this step...
2.7 miSE
Nature, Natural attraction, Cave
Balankanche, Chichen Itza
70 min walk • Balankanche is an ancient Maya cave site lying at short distance from the archaeological Maya-Toltec city of Chichen Itza, Yucatan. For more than two thousand years, it has been the focus of rituals dedicated to the Maya rain god, Chaac, and, in the Post-Classic period, also to his Toltec counterpart, Tlaloc.
0.6 miN
Nature, Lake
Sacred Cenote, Chichen Itza
16 min walk • The Sacred Cenote is a water-filled sinkhole in limestone at the pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site of Chichen Itza, in the northern Yucatán Peninsula.
1.9 miSE
Cenote with swimming and hanging vines
Ik Kil, Chichen Itza
50 min walk • Ik Kil is a cenote outside Pisté in the Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico. It is located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula and is part of the Ik Kil Archeological Park near Chichen Itza. It is open to the public for swimming.
1.6 miNW
Village
Pisté
42 min walk • Pisté is a village in Tinum Municipality in the center of Yucatán State, Mexico. It is best known for the Mayan archaeological site Chichen Itza and the cenote Ik Kil. Fed 180 connects Pisté to Valladolid, about 40 kilometres away, and Mérida, the capital of Yucatán, about 111 kilometres away.