Located north of
Valladolid and close to Temozon and Hunukú, Ek
Balam means "Black Jaguar" in Mayan.
The access to this archaeological site is on a
narrow pavimented road path of approximately one
and a half mile.
This archaeological zone was founded in the year
100 BC and was probably one of the most powerful
Mayan cities.
This archaeological area is rich in settlements
and constructions, including temples altars, and
homes. Among these are "The Tower" and
the group known as "The Central
Plaza".
Built in the classic period it reached the
height of its power during the late classical
period of 600-1000 AC. With the Puuc influence
from the western coast of Campeche, it has seven
pyramidal building settlements two of whom are
higher than the Chichen Itza castle. Stands out
the structure #1 that is approximately 165
meters length and 75 meters high, this is one of
the biggest buildings in Yucatan. This is also
one of the most voluminous structures in
Mesoamerica. Statues, hieroglyphs, figurines and
masks can be watched in this also called The
Acropolis building.
The structure #2
is the most clear sample of the Puuc style
influence from Ek Balam. It is a platform of 80
times 55 meters that supports the big structure
of the pyramid.
The main two buildings of Ek Balam are
distributed in two plazas called "plaza
norte" and "plaza sur"; both them
are situated within a walled area of about 1,250
square meters. Two other wall structures are
also found around these two plazas giving
evidence of strong protection to the central
area of the site where the governors and the
nobles lived.
Located north of
Valladolid and close to Temozon and Hunukú, Ek
Balam means "Black Jaguar" in Mayan.
The access to this archaeological site is on a
narrow pavimented road path of approximately one
and a half mile.
The structure #2
is the most clear sample of the Puuc style
influence from Ek Balam. It is a platform of 80
times 55 meters that supports the big structure
of the pyramid.