Pre-Hispanic City of Palenque
Our recent trip to Mexico took us to the Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque in the state of Chiapas, about a two-hour drive from Villahermosa. The history of Palenque is fascinating and it's easy to understand why it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Palenque is an example of a Mayan sanctuary from the classical period. This city was at its height between 500 and 700 AD. It had been abandoned centuries before the arrival of Spanish priest, Pedro Lorenzo de Nada in 1567, who first wrote about it. In the 20th century, excavations at Palenque have shed light on the structure of the Mayan dynasties. In the centuries after it was abandoned, Palenque was swallowed by the jungle and only about 5% of the structures have been excavated and are able to be viewed by the public.
We booked a group tour from our hotel in Villahermosa at a cost of about $135 USD for the two of us, including the guide at Palenque but not tips or lunch. We ended up being the only two on the tour so we were assigned a small but new private car and a friendly driver. After the archeological site, our last stop was the Site Museum (Museo del Sitio) which was deliciously air conditioned, and then lunch at a recommended open-air restaurant called Los Liones. Alex, Carlos our driver, and I were the only guests... the food was decent but the best was yet to come. The excursion to Palenque took about 8 hours.
This photo taken from the Temple of the Foliated Cross shows the Temple of the Sun at left, the Palace in the center, and the Temple of the Cross, at right:
A closer view of the Palace as it looks today:
A replica of the Palace at the Site Museum shows what it looked like in it heyday:
The Temple of the Sun:
Looking up at the Temple of the Inscriptions, the burial place of Pacal, a Mayan king:
Alexander climbed to the top of the Temple of the Cross (he's on the left)... I watched from the shade of a big tree because it was over 100 degrees:
The Temple of the Foliated Cross is an easy climb:
Temple of the Foliated Cross is at right:
From a distance you can see the dense, lush jungle that envelopes Palenque:
Did I mention that 95% of Palenque has NOT been excavated? Visitors just have access to a mere 5% of the site. Here, barely visible beneath the overgrowth, is a structure yet to be excavated:
A structure under excavation, a process that takes years:
The Maya were an advanced society. To this day, the exact cause of their disappearance remains a mystery. Here you can see the aqueduct that was used to bring water to the city:
This is the impressive temple group near the entrance. The craft vendors are kept out of the park and visitors are free to enjoy this amazing place without being distracted:
The rain forest of Palenque contains diverse flora and fauna, a bird-lover's paradise. It looks cool and green, but cool it is not. The 100 degree heat was suffocating when combined with the humidity:
~ Lisa
We booked a group tour from our hotel in Villahermosa at a cost of about $135 USD for the two of us, including the guide at Palenque but not tips or lunch. We ended up being the only two on the tour so we were assigned a small but new private car and a friendly driver. After the archeological site, our last stop was the Site Museum (Museo del Sitio) which was deliciously air conditioned, and then lunch at a recommended open-air restaurant called Los Liones. Alex, Carlos our driver, and I were the only guests... the food was decent but the best was yet to come. The excursion to Palenque took about 8 hours.
This photo taken from the Temple of the Foliated Cross shows the Temple of the Sun at left, the Palace in the center, and the Temple of the Cross, at right:
A closer view of the Palace as it looks today:
A replica of the Palace at the Site Museum shows what it looked like in it heyday:
The Temple of the Sun:
Looking up at the Temple of the Inscriptions, the burial place of Pacal, a Mayan king:
Alexander climbed to the top of the Temple of the Cross (he's on the left)... I watched from the shade of a big tree because it was over 100 degrees:
The Temple of the Foliated Cross is an easy climb:
Temple of the Foliated Cross is at right:
From a distance you can see the dense, lush jungle that envelopes Palenque:
Did I mention that 95% of Palenque has NOT been excavated? Visitors just have access to a mere 5% of the site. Here, barely visible beneath the overgrowth, is a structure yet to be excavated:
A structure under excavation, a process that takes years:
The Maya were an advanced society. To this day, the exact cause of their disappearance remains a mystery. Here you can see the aqueduct that was used to bring water to the city:
This is the impressive temple group near the entrance. The craft vendors are kept out of the park and visitors are free to enjoy this amazing place without being distracted:
The rain forest of Palenque contains diverse flora and fauna, a bird-lover's paradise. It looks cool and green, but cool it is not. The 100 degree heat was suffocating when combined with the humidity:
~ Lisa
What an amazing place. I hope I can see it someday. The Maya were truly an advanced society. Their architecture and knowledge of astronomy rivaled any of the great societies of the ancient world. I can imagine what the city looked like in its heyday, with beautiful painted buildings and frescoes on the walls.
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hola doña lisa y alex son increibles Las fotos Que ponen en internet espero Que Se encuentren biem de Salud un abrazo con todo cariño de ricardo parra de un amigo en merida yucatan gracias a Ambos
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Thanks for the post!
Nice lovely historical pics i like it keep it up great work.
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Thanks for sharing lovely nice historical pics nice work doing i like travailing or history.keeps up
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