The Mayan city of Ichkabal in Mexico is undergoing excavations and renovations, and will be open for public viewing by mid-2024 for the first time, says Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History.
Ichkabal, ‘the place of snakes’, is thought to be home to the Kaanu’l (serpent) Dynasty, and consisted of temples, sacrificial sites, stone houses, public buildings, ball courts and other entertainment areas still recognisable in its ruins. Standing out among the structures is a 40m-high pyramid almost twice the size of the Kukulkán temple in Chichén Itzá.
The ruins are a two-and-a-half-hour drive south of Cancun, towards the seven-coloured lake of Bacalar.
Workers are currently developing the site to accommodate mass tourism, improving the access road, installing restrooms and a ticket booth.
The grand opening of the ruins coincides with the opening of the Mayan train to Bacalar. The station is 25 minutes from the ruins.
According to researchers, Ichkabal was an important urban centre on a Mayan trade route, offering easy links to all the major Mayan hubs. Ichkabal was second to Chichén Itzá as a key trading hub in the pre-classic era between 400BC and 900AD.
