The Governor Palace’s facade decorated in Puuc style is more than 100 meters long as is called the finest structure at Uxmal. The upper part has Chac faces and geometric designs, the lower part of the facade is plain. Other elements include decorated cornices, rows of half-columns and round columns in doorways.


Behind Palacio del Gobernador

Temple at Palacio del Gobernador

Palacio del Gobernador

Governor Palace

Casa de las Tortugas / House of the Turtles - The name of the house comes from the turtles carved on the cornice. The Maya associated turtles with the god of rain, Chac.

House of the Turtles / Casa de las Tortugas

The 74-room Cuadrangulo de las Monjas was probably a military academy, royal school or palace complex. The face of Chac appears everywhere on the facade. The feathered-serpent Quetzalcoatl (Kukulkan in Maya) on the west temple’s facade shows of Toltec influence.

Cuadrangulo de las Monjas

Cuadrangulo de las Monjas

Ball Court.

The Mesoamerican ballgame was a sport with ritual associations played for over 3000 years by the pre-Columbian peoples of Mesoamerica. Pre-Columbian ballcourts have been found throughout Mesoamerica, as far south as Nicaragua, and possibly as far north as the U.S. state of Arizona. These ballcourts vary considerably in size, but all have long narrow alleys with side-walls against which the balls could bounce. The rules of the ballgame are not known, but judging from its descendant, ulama, they were probably similar to racquetball or volleyball, where the aim is to keep the ball in play. The stone ballcourt goals are a late addition to the game. In the most widespread version of the game, the players struck the ball with their hips, although some versions allowed the use of forearms, rackets, bats, or handstones. The ball was made of solid rubber and weighed up to 4 kg (9 lbs) or more, and sizes differed greatly over time or according to the version played. The game had important ritual aspects, and major formal ballgames were held as ritual events, often featuring human sacrifice. The sport was also played casually for recreation by children and perhaps even women. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_ballgame

Gran Piramide / Templo Mayor

El Palomar. El Palomar sits west of the Great Pyramid. Its roof comb is latticed with a pattern resembling pigeon houses built into walls in Spain and Africa, hence the building’s name “The Dovecote”.

Casa del Adivino. Near the entrance to Uxmal ruins you can see this magnificient building Casa del Adivino (Magician’s House) - a 39m-high temple built on an oval base.

Behind Cuadrangulo de las Monjas and Casa del Adivino

Courtyard in front of Casa del Adivino. Casa del Adivino (The Magician’s House) is a 39m-high building whose smoothly sloping sides have been restored. They date the temple’s fifth incarnation. The four earlier temples are covered inside of it.

Casa del Adivino