Why go
Use the main groups to make sense of the distance between monuments and the city’s varied architecture. El Castillo, the Great Ballcourt and Temple of the Warriors form one concentration, while El Caracol, Las Monjas and Akab Dzib belong to another.
The full story
The densely built core of Chichen Itza covered at least five square kilometers, and smaller residential buildings extended beyond it. Builders leveled uneven limestone ground to create major platforms, especially around El Castillo, Las Monjas, the Osario and the southwest groups. A network of raised, paved roads called sacbeob connected the parts of the city; archaeologists have identified more than 80. Low walls also marked separate architectural sets. The Great North Platform holds El Castillo, the Temple of the Warriors and the Great Ballcourt. The Osario Group includes its namesake pyramid and the Temple of Xtoloc. The Central Group includes El Caracol, Las Monjas and Akab Dzib. Farther south, Chichén Viejo contains additional complexes. The layout is more than a collection of isolated pyramids: platforms, walls and roads organized movement between places with different functions. When comparing the north platform with the Central Group, look for changes in scale and decorative style as well as the routes that connected them.