Mexico/Yucatan: Mayapan Ruins
The Mayan ruins of Mayapan lie about 40km SE from Merida. The site is much less known then Chichen Itza or Uxmal, but Mayapan actually was the political and cultural capital of the Maya people on the entire Yucatan Peninsula during the 1220-1440s, with population reaching 17,000. There are nearly 4000 structures unearthed in Mayapan, most of them simple residence, but there are several spectacular pyramids. The largest is the Pyramid of Kukulkan (a near-imitation of Chichen Itza), offering a panorama of the entire Mayapan site and well beyond in the flat green jungle. Unlike other sites, here you can actually climb all the pyramids.
