Little Guide of Edzna

Edzna, Campeche, MEXICO Photo by Bernard DUPONT for Wikimedia Commons

Edzna is a Mayan archaeological site, located in the state of Campeche in Mexico. It is one hour away from the city of Campeche. The Mayans founded it in 600 BC and occupied it until the 15th century. Edzna was at its peak (year 600-1000) an important regional capital. It hosted up to 25 000 inhabitants. Here is a little guide for Edzna.

What to see in Edzna

Originally Edzna was home to several religious, administrative and residential buildings. The area is on some 10 miles², in a mixture of Puuc, Petéen and Chenes styles.

Today, only a small part of it is accessible to the public. Here are the main buildings that can be seen in Edzna:

The big house: the Nohochná is a long platform easy to recognize. It separates us from the Great Acropolis when we arrive at the site. It is possible that it had an administrative function, but another hypothesis is that it was used as bleachers to watch the events taking place on the main square.

Great Acropolis: it is the main complex of Edzna, with a central square surrounded by several buildings. The most important building is the Edificio de Cinco Pisos, a pyramid of 5 floors, 4 of which contain vaulted rooms, which is very rare for a Mayan site. It is no longer possible to climb the building, but you can have a view by climbing the adjacent buildings like the Temple of the Moon or the Northwest Temple.

The Small Acropolis (la Pequeña Acrópolis): located just next to the Great Acropolis, there are 4 buildings, some of which (a mask and some steles) are among the oldest remains of the site.

The steles: there are 32 of them in all. They represent the rulers acceding to the throne, or the famous ball game, the conquest of a region, a political alliance, etc. They date from different periods (4 tall between the year 41 and 435, 11 between 633 and 830, and the rest between the 9th and 10th centuries)

Temple of the Masks or temple of the faces (templo de los mascarones): you will find it easily, it is protected by a roof. You can see the magnificent stuccoed masks on each side of the stairs. One can easily imagine the impressive impact the temple must have had when it was in its full splendor.