chichen itzá Park

Beautiful place to know very friendly people

Mexico is the cradle of many great ancient civilizations. The most popular tourist cities of pre-Columbian cultures, such as the Aztec Teotihuacan or the Mayan Chichen Itza, have been cleared and "domesticated". They undoubtedly deserve great interest, but we chose another object for our collection of attractions - the Palenque complex, hidden in the jungle of Chiapas. The name "Palenque" is conditional, as the Spaniards called it. The Maya Indians called the city Lakam-ha - "big water". The ancient city remained unknown to the Spanish colonialists for a long time. At the end of the 17th century. a military detachment stumbled upon the village of Santo Domingo de Palenque, the existence of which the authorities did not suspect. And nearby in the forest were found ancient ruins, named after the neighboring village also Palenque. The first expedition to explore the city was sent in 1784 and since then Palenque is one of the most studied pre-Columbian cities in Mexico. The Palenque complex cannot be called very large, but its significance is undeniable. The main buildings date back to the 6th-8th centuries. They are associated with the ancient Mayan state of Baakul. The Baakul kingdom moved the capital from the unidentified city of Toktan to Lakam-Ha (which is confidently considered the current Palenque) in 490. The initial period of the kingdom is poorly known to us, but under the reign of K'inich Hanaab Pakal (better known as Pakal the Great), the power of Baakul increased enormously and in the capital - Palenque - large-scale stone construction began. In posthumous inscriptions, Pakal is called "the owner of the five pyramids." The chronicles of the Baakul kingdom unexpectedly end in 736, apparently, there was a period of decline later, probably caused by a military defeat (presumably as a result of the invasion from the Gulf of Mexico). The few subsequent records finally cease in 799. Obviously, the Baakul kingdom collapsed. However, no traces of intentional destruction have been found in Palenque, so the final reasons for the death of the state remain controversial. The center of Palenque is the palace - a group of buildings around two large and two small courtyards, over which a square tower rises. There are three pyramidal “temples” in the complex: “Temple of the Sun”, “Temple of the Cross” and “Temple of Inscriptions” (with the tomb of Pakal). The body of the great ruler was richly decorated with jade ornaments, and a jade mask was put on his face. The sarcophagus is covered with an elaborately carved slab. All the treasures were transferred to the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. A copy of the famous carved slab remains in Palenque. The slab from Pakal's sarcophagus is simply a cult act of various ufologists and supporters of the theory of paleocontacts. Even Erich von Daniken saw in the figure of the ruler passing into the world of the dead, "an exact image of an astronaut" at the control panel of the aircraft. Access to the territory is open from 8:00 to 17:00. There is a museum on the territory that stores archaeological finds, including a copy of the upper part of Pakal's sarcophagus. There is a shop next to the museum where you can buy souvenirs and local crafts. A variety of Mayan-style crafts are offered by street vendors outside the main entrance.

If you like to walk and enjoy hot weather this is a good tour.

Very good park to play basketball, recently remodeled

Another of the domes that received a cat's hand during 2020. It has new Led lighting, new hoops and backboards and a freshly painted court.