The ruins of Xpuhil are a striking example of the Río Bec style. The three towers (rather than the usual two) of Estructura I rise above a dozen vaulted rooms. The 53m central tower is the best preserved. Its banded tiers and impractically steep stairways leading up to a temple that displays traces of a zoomorphic mask, give you a good idea of what the other two towers must have looked like in Xpuhil’s 8th-century heyday.

Go around back to see a fierce jaguar mask embedded in the wall below the temple. The ruins are located on the western edge of Xpujil town; it's about a 1km walk from the entrance to the ruins, which are in a pretty setting.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Becán

3.98 MILES

The Maya word for ‘canyon’ or ‘moat’ is becán, and indeed a 2km moat snakes its way around this must-visit Maya site. Seven causeways provide access…

2. Chicanná

5.3 MILES

Aptly named ‘House of the Snake’s Jaws,’ this Maya site is best known for one remarkably well-preserved doorway with a hideous fanged visage. Located 10km…

3. Río Bec

8.25 MILES

A collection of small but significant structures in 74 groupings, Río Bec covers a 100-sq-km area southeast of Xpujil, and is the only place where all…

4. Hormiguero

8.95 MILES

The buildings of Hormiguero date as far back as AD 50; the city (whose modern name is Spanish for ‘anthill’) flourished during the late Classic period…

5. Cueva de los Murciélagos

27.4 MILES

At sundown every evening some two to three million bats swirl up from the depths of a dry cenote, forming a tornado of fur and wings that's a surreal…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "mexico/yucatan-peninsula/xpujil/attractions/xpuhil/a/poi-sig/1149858/361685",
      "position": "superzone"
    }