The ruins of the ancient Maya city of Palenque in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas are unlike any others I have visited, covered in jungle and only partially excavated. While not voted a New Wonder of the World like Chichen Itza in Yucatán, I found Palenque to be even more impressive.
My visit to the ruins last October was a delightful combination of touring ruins and exploring the jungle. And the guide my boyfriend and I had gave us so much interesting history and context about the site that helped me to appreciate it even more. So, let’s talk about the ruins of Palenque and why you should visit them if you find yourself in Chiapas, Mexico.
Tour or No Tour?
If staying in the city of Palenque like I was, there are plenty of tours to the ruins, some of which come combined with tours of the nearby waterfall Agua Azul. These can be pricier than going without a tour but come with more convenient transportation and you can get a major bang for your buck if you want to learn as much as possible about the ruins. If you’re looking to save money and are willing to take the time and effort like we were, then you can take public transport – or a car if you have one – from the city of Palenque to the ruins.
We opted to save the money and go without a tour. We walked 10 minutes into the center of town and asked around for colectivos, which are small buses or vans that serve as public transport, going to the ruins. When we found one, we paid 40MXN ($2.30) each. We were there within 30 minutes.
Arriving at the Park
Upon arrival, we were greeted by a mass of official park guides offering us different tour packages. Initially, we planned to only pay the park entry fee and not use a tour guide at the park. Our prior research told us that the entry was only 105MXN ($6) for the archaeological site. However, we did not realize we also needed to pay a separate fee to see the national park, which is where you get to actually walk through the jungle itself.
We opted to pay the national park entry as well, which brought the price up to 210MXN ($12). We also decided to pay for a guide for the jungle who could explain the fascinating history, which added another $12 each.
We hopped in a golf cart with our guide and were whisked along to the entrance to the jungle. Before we entered, he made sure we lathered ourselves in bug spray, as the mosquitos were about to get absolutely brutal.
The Jungle That Swallowed Palenque
We excitedly entered the path into the jungle and were swallowed by massive leafy green trees on all sides. As we walked along the trail, our guide told us about himself. He was from the area and spoke the local Mayan dialect as his first language.
The guide pointed out the varieties of plants as we walked. He told us about a venomous snake residing there to watch out for. He broke open a coconut and gave us some to try, as we enjoyed the view of a jungle waterfall. We continued coating on the bug repellent and swatting at ourselves as we walked along further into the forest.
When we first entered the jungle, it appeared undisturbed, with no signs of human life. But as we walked further along, the signs of a former civilization lost to time appeared. As we neared the archaeological site, our guide skillfully pointed out stone, obsidian and ceramic artifacts scattered on the ground, picking them up and identifying them for us.
We were nearly there, and by this point we could even see temples sticking out of the ground, partially excavated. The closer we got to the archaeological site, the more partially exhumed ruins appeared and the more artifacts we found sitting on the ground along the path. Our guide explained that less than 10 percent of Palenque has been uncovered, the rest still buried under the very rainforest on which we stood.
Temple of the Inscriptions
We emerged from the jungle to an opening with restrooms, food stands and buses. Our guide pointed out some monkeys climbing in the trees, and then he parted ways to let us continue to the ruins alone.
We walked out onto a field of grass, with several ruins surrounding it. The Temple of the Inscriptions, the largest pyramid in Palenque, is wildly impressive. Built as a funerary monument to a Maya political leader in the 7th century, it stands at 89 feet (27.2) meters tall and 196 feet (60 meters) wide.
Temple of the Cross Complex
After admiring the Temple of the Inscriptions and exploring the courtyard and its other ruins, we walked back to the Temple of the Cross Complex, which features the Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Foliated Cross. This complex is astounding, and the view from the top of the Temple of the Sun was the highlight of the whole experience.
The Temple of the Sun itself is not that big, at 19 meters (62 feet) tall, but it is its placement on top of a hill with many, many steps leading to the top that make it such a towering entity. Once at the top, I had an unbelievable view of the other ruins and the seemingly endless jungle.
From here, all that remained was to descend all those steps again and enjoy the other ruins at the site. Once we felt we had seen it all, we took a colectivo back to town and reminisced about our day.
Chichen Itza has its charms, and Teotihuacan has so much history behind it, but for a less crowded option with some amazing nature mixed in, Palenque wins for best ruins to see in Mexico.
