Ek Balam

Description

The site is located 30 km north of Valladolid, 2 km away from a small Mayan village by the same name. In the Yucatec Maya language the name means "Black Jaguar". In ancient times, it was a large city, controlling a populous and prosperous countryside. Its impressive architecture dates, for the most part, to the Late Classic.

Notable features

The largest structure, known as The Acropolis, has a 5m tall jaguar's mouth featuring winged Mayan warriors, as well as inscriptions in the Maya script. From the top of this structure can be seen the pre-Columbian sites of Coba and Chichen Itza.