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Maya Ruins > Xpuhil

Xpuhil is part of the group of ruins that comprise the Rio Bec area. The interesting thing about the Rio Bec area is that the area is very old -- occupied around 600 BC. The peak, however, was around 500 AD. The Rio Bec is known for the the extravagant carvings on the buildings, false staircase, tall towers and "monster" faces and includes Chicanna, Becan, Balamku, Rio Bec, Hormiguero and Xpuhil.

Open 8-5; admission 42 pesos. Allow at least 45 minutes to visit


Stone monster face at Xpuhil

Xpuhil is a small site, just west of the main village. Even though it is small it has the greatest group of three towers. They have facades of 70 degrees. There are "secret" stairways that allowed priests to go to the top of the temples and magically appear to the people.

Nearby the ruins is the town of Xpuhil. There is not much to do in town, but there are a couple of decent restaurants and you can get gasoline there. Xpuhil is about 3 hours drive from Mayan Beach Garden, so it makes it rather difficult to see on a day trip. We recommend making an overnight trip and stay at Chicanna Eco-village or Rio Bec Dreams. While there you can see Chicanna, Xpuhil, Balamku and Becan. We highly recommend this if you love to visit ruins. This set of Mayan ruins is spectacular yet few people take the time to visit them.

 

Xpuhil is located just West of the town of Xpuhil in the state of Campeche on Federal highway 186. The roads to Xpuhil is excellent and it is s short walk from the highway.

Zoom in on the Google Map at the left to see close ups of the structures at Xpuhil, or Zoom out to see it's location on the Yucatan Peninsula.

The three towers while badly eroded are majestic in their appearance.
Xpuhil Mask

On the towers, there are remains of roof combs and monster face carvings on the false stairway in the front.

The ruins of Xpuhil were named after a nearby watering hole named Xpuhil. The word in Mayan is related to an abundant herb known as "cola de gato" (cat's tail).

Xpuhil tunnel

 

Once you climb onto the set of three temples that make up most outstanding structure at Xpuhil, you can see one of the tunnels that the Priests used. I've climbed up there before, but I'm not sure you are allowed to do so any more because of damage to the structure.

Yucatecan, Mexican and Mayan Cooking courses