Of all the major and the many lesser Mayan civilization
sites on the Yucatan Peninsula, only three have been designated UNESCO World
Heritage sites – Chichen Itza, Calakmul, and Uxmal . Uxmal was a city state in
the Puuc region of western Yucatan that is believed to have been founded by
Mayans from the Peten region in Guatemala in the sixth century A.D. It emerged
as a dominant regional city state between 850 and 900 A.D. during which time its
greatest monuments were built. Uxmal shares architectural characteristics with
neighboring smaller sites that are together characterized as Puuc Mayan, all
located is a relatively fertile but dry upland region.

So what makes Uxmal so special that it’s been awarded World
Heritage status? Well, as best I can tell Uxmal has the most amazing sculptures
which remain in-situ of any of the Mayan sites I’ve seen so far. The architecture
is very different too with a great deal of stone lattice work on relatively low
lying buildings and a general horizontality to the architecture with contrasts
with the more vertical nature of the buildings at many sites, particularly
Tikal. While Uxmal’s Great Pyramid resembles those at other Mayan ruin sites,
the more rounded Pyramid of the Magician is quite unique . Also, in contrast to
acropolises at some of the other Mayan sites, Uxmal has several almost
completely enclosed quadrangles, named the Nunnery Quadrangle for its apparent similarity
to Spanish convents and the Quadrangle of the Birds, named for its incredible
carvings of avian figures. Also very cool is the Jaguar Throne, a raised statue
of a double-headed jaguar.

One of the nice things about visiting Uxmal too is that it’s
not very crowded. Although it has more visitors than the other Mayan sites on
the western part of the Yucatan, it’s not on the main tourist trail and far
enough from Cancun and Playa del Carmen that it’s not practical as a daytrip
from the beach resorts. Therefore, it gets more serious visitors and not hordes
of those following around a tour guide carrying a brightly-colored umbrella.

One of the things I’ve learned over the last several weeks
is that it’s much more enjoyable to visit the Mayan sites early in the morning
to avoid both tourists and the heat . Although it’s been quite dry in western
Yucatan, searing sunshine on afternoons that are between 95* and 100*F just isn’t
pleasant. And this is still the relatively cool season. I don’t want to think
about what it’s like in May when temperatures are even slightly higher but
humidity is way up too.

Overall I’d have to say that Uxmal stands with Tikal near
the top of my list of favorite Mayan sites. Although you’re not allowed to
climb the Pyramid of the Magician, they do still let you climb the less
spectacular Great Pyramid, and you can also walk around in the quadrangles, in
contrast to Chichen Itza where all structures are roped off from public access.