We had been to Izamal many years ago, so when planning a trip with our teens, we decided to go back and visit this little “yellow city”. One of the neat things about Izamal is that there are pyramids right in the city, just blocks from the center square where the famous monastery is.
Getting to Izamal is easy. We drove from Valladolid to Izamal, but it is also a popular destination from Merida. There were plenty of signs along the way for Izamal, and Google Maps also guided us to the city.
We parked along the main square in our rented car. If you are driving, be sure to look for appropriate parking. There are signs marked “Estacionamiento” and also ones marked with an “E” with a red slash.
The main square has shopping, food, horse-drawn carriages, etc.
We rented a car but took a horse drawn carriage to the ruins. The site is only about 3 blocks from the monastery, so it is not a far ride, whether you walk or take other transportation.
Our guide parked the carriage at the bottom of the ruins and gave us time to go explore. (In this photo, the ruins are to the left).
This is the site of Kinich Kakmo, which is a pyramid built for the sun god. There is no entrance fee for this ruin, so we simply walked up to the top and back down.
The view of the street below. Our carriage was parked right near the turquoise truck and the large red doors.
There were some informational signs along the way. This site was built around 400-600 A.D.
The site was popular, but not overly crowded.
It was a super hot day, and I remember how intense the sun was. I definitely recommend some water and sun protection.
The pyramid is only partially restored, and there weren’t any particularly special details (no carvings, etc).
The final ascent was definitely physically challenging, at least in the hot midday sun.
The view from the top. You can see the convent from all the way up here.
There are ruins throughout the town of Izamal (I believe about a dozen). Our guide stopped at a number of the ruins to view them from the carriage. We did not get out or explore any of the these additional ruins.
While this is one of the smaller ruins we visited, it was nice to check out. I don’t know that I would come to Izamal solely for the purpose of seeing Kinich Kakmó, but it is worth seeing if you are in or around town.
Check out our other Mexico blog posts here.
About the Author: Marysa
Busy blogger and mom of two girls! We love traveling and the great outdoors, and are always looking for our next adventure!
Wow, that is so awesome you are able to go there. I have always wanted to visit the ruins in Mexico. I went to Cancun once but wasn’t able to visit the ruins that were nearby.
There is something special about Mexico. The people, the colors, the food, the culture…that is so beautiful. My mother traveled to a ruins in Mexico, although I’m not sure which ones. This looks like a fantastic adventure. So unique.
This looks like an awesome place to stop! I like seeing the ruins and visiting old places such as this one. We are no strangers to the sun living in Texas, so know how important it is to prepare for it.
What a beautiful clear day it was to explore 🙂
The Mexico that I love and I want to discover so much, the one full of mystery and history and more authentic and less touristy!
Ahhhh I really want to visit Mexico and the ruins there. You look like you had an incredible time and what a beautiful sky you had on the day.
Looks like a lovely trip. The horse drawn carriage is so unexpected for Mexico.
Ruins are great places to visit. I love to learn more about history through visiting places like this
This looks like a great place to visit. I can see that you had a great time from your photos
The sky with the grass in that picture looks amazing. Never been to this place before but would love to visit it.
That looks like a great place to visit! I will add it to my list!
What a beautiful place. This is actually my kind of adventure. It’s a mixture of history and a bit of mystery.
I love exploring a place like this.. it’s like seeing a great piece of the past. It is so nice to see how they managed to preserve this piece of ancient architecture. I bet you had a blast touring this place.. hopefully i can visit this ancient landmark someday.
Thank you for giving us a virtual tour of this mayan ruin.
Would LOVE to visit here! Looks so beautiful and full of history!
Ahhh this has brought back some wonderful memories. I would love to take the children back there now they are a bit older. The Mayan ruins are so special
This is very exciting! I would love to visit with family.
This looks like a blast! I’d love to visit.
Such a beautiful day for exploring! I have never been to Mexico before, but would love to some day!
I have never been there, and that is really beautiful.
I wish to be there and explore the place someday.
Such a spiritual site and what a bright day as well. Izamal seems like a fabulous place to visit and especially visiting Kinich Kakmo
This looks like it was such an amazing experience. I’d love to visit there one day and see it in person for myself.
It sounds like having a guide was nice in the area. I would love to isit Kinich Kamo myself.
It’s always so wonderful to see such ancient sites. I’d love to take a trip to Mexico.
What an amazing trip! I think that this looks like such a fun place to visit. Great pictures!
This is spectacular and I would love to visit this area to view for myself. I am a huge history buff and just love this sort of thing 😉 Great pictures too and adding this to my bucket list 😉
This place had me hooked, there is something so pleasant about it and your pictures make the experience look so much worth while. I will surely keep it in mind.
I want to visit Kinich Kakmó Mayan Ruins, Izamal, Mexico! Seems like a great place! Maybe next year?
Wow! That was a really amazing and a wonderful place to visit! I really love to be there!