"previously thought and require immediate conservation action. There are 1092 World Heritage Sites located in 167 states. Of these, 845 are cultural, 209 are natural and 38 are mixed properties. The World Heritage Committee has divided the world into five geographic zones which it calls regions: Africa, Arab states, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Russia and the Caucasus states are classified as European, while Mexico and the Caribbean are classified as belonging to the Latin America & Caribbean zone, despite their location in North America. The UNESCO geographic zones also give"
"property, and the site's stewardship is maintained by Mexico's ""Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia"" (National Institute of Anthropology and History). The land under the monuments had been privately owned until 29 March 2010, when it was purchased by the state of Yucatán. Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico with over 2.6 million tourists in 2017. The Maya name ""Chichen Itza"" means ""At the mouth of the well of the Itza."" This derives from ""chi""', meaning ""mouth"" or ""edge,"" and ""ch'en"" or ""ch'e'en"", meaning ""well."" ""Itzá"" is the name of an ethnic-lineage group that"
"the land upon which the most recognized monuments rest from owner Hans Juergen Thies Barbachano. Over the past several years, INAH, which manages the site, has been closing monuments to public access. While visitors can walk around them, they can no longer climb them or go inside their chambers. The most recent was El Castillo, which was closed after a San Diego, California, woman fell to her death in 2006. Chichen Itza Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The archaeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán State, Mexico."
"or ""Uc Abnal"" (""Seven Lines of Abnal""). This name, dating to the Late Classic Period, is recorded both in the book of Chilam Balam de Chumayel and in hieroglyphic texts in the ruins. Chichen Itza is located in the eastern portion of Yucatán state in Mexico. The northern Yucatán Peninsula is arid, and the rivers in the interior all run underground. There are four visible, natural sink holes, called cenotes, that could have provided plentiful water year round at Chichen, making it attractive for settlement. Of these cenotes, the ""Cenote Sagrado"" or Sacred Cenote (also variously known as the Sacred"
"Itzá has an azimuth of 111.72°, corresponding to sunsets on May 20 and July 24, separated by 65 and 300 days (multiples of 13 and 20). Significantly, the same dates are recorded by El Castillo at Tulum. In recent years, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), which manages the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, has been closing monuments to public. While visitors can walk around them, they can no longer climb them or go inside their chambers. Climbing El Castillo was stopped in 2006, after a woman fell to her death. At the same time INAH closed the"
"Chichen Itza Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The archaeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán State, Mexico. Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the Northern Maya Lowlands from the Late Classic (c. AD 600–900) through the Terminal Classic (c. AD 800–900) and into the early portion of the Postclassic period (c. AD 900–1200). The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico and of the Puuc and Chenes styles of the Northern Maya lowlands. The presence of central Mexican"
"Incidents of Travel in Chichen Itza Incidents of Travel in Chichén Itzá is an award winning ethnographic film (ethnographic documentary). Jeff Himpele and Quetzil E. Castañeda, filmmakers and producers. Production 1995 and 1997. Postproduction release: 1997. This ethnographic film can be considered as a combination of the documentary film styles that Bill Nichols calls the participatory and the performative modes. While shooting the film, the filmmakers emphasized techniques of ""cinéma verité"" as pioneered in anthropological films by Jean Rouch. It has become a classic film text in the anthropology of tourism for its portrayal of the economic, social, cultural and"
"trip on tour buses. In 2007, Chichen Itza's El Castillo was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World after a worldwide vote. Despite the fact that the vote was sponsored by a commercial enterprise, and that its methodology was criticized, the vote was embraced by government and tourism officials in Mexico who project that as a result of the publicity the number of tourists expected to visit Chichen will double by 2012. The ensuing publicity re-ignited debate in Mexico over the ownership of the site, which culminated on 29 March 2010 when the state of Yucatán purchased"
"sponsored by the National Geographic, and the second by private interests. Both projects were supervised by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). INAH has conducted an ongoing effort to excavate and restore other monuments in the archaeological zone, including the Osario, Akab D'zib, and several buildings in Chichén Viejo (Old Chichen). In 2009, to investigate construction that predated El Castillo, Yucatec archaeologists began excavations adjacent to El Castillo under the direction of Rafael (Rach) Cobos. Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities, with the relatively densely clustered architecture of the site core covering an area of"
"thousand show up to see the light-and-shadow effect on the Temple of Kukulcan in which the feathered serpent god appears to crawl down the side of the pyramid. Tourists are also amazed by the acoustics at Chichen Itza. For instance a handclap in front of the staircase of the El Castillo pyramid is followed by an echo that resembles the chirp of a quetzal as investigated by Declercq. Chichen Itza, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the second-most visited of Mexico's archaeological sites. The archaeological site draws many visitors from the popular tourist resort of Cancún, who make a day"
"Chichén a unique setting for private events, weddings, or photographic sessions. Hacienda Chichén Hacienda Chichén is located in the Tinúm Municipality in the state of Yucatán in southeastern Mexico. It was one of the first haciendas established in Yucatán and was in ruins by 1847. Edward Herbert Thompson, US consul in Yucatán, purchased Hacienda Chichén, including the archaeological site in 1894. He excavated, explored and exported goods from the site to the Peabody Museum for over 3 decades. In 1926, he was charged with trafficking of antiquities but the charges were later dropped and his heirs sold the site. The"
"San José Chactún The Hacienda San José Chactún is a hacienda located in the State of Yucatán in Mexico. The hacienda contains historical relics, extensive virgin areas, and a high biodiversity in wildlife. It is very close to the archaeological sites of Uxmal (Heritage), Oxkintok and path Puuc, to the caves of Calcehtok and Loltún and the colonial cities of Merida and Campeche (Heritage), the route of the Franciscan Monastery and the coastal area and biosphere reserve Celestún e Isla Arenas and to the famous Chichen Itza site. The original city is attributed to the Toltec, its archaeological remains dating"
"the Hacienda Chichén, which Barbachano turned into another seasonal hotel. In 1972, Mexico enacted the Ley Federal Sobre Monumentos y Zonas Arqueológicas, Artísticas e Históricas (Federal Law over Monuments and Archeological, Artistic and Historic Sites) that put all the nation's pre-Columbian monuments, including those at Chichen Itza, under federal ownership. There were now hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors every year to Chichen Itza, and more were expected with the development of the Cancún resort area to the east. In the 1980s, Chichen Itza began to receive an influx of visitors on the day of the spring equinox. Today several"
"and we will test this hypothesis though underwater sampling. In 2017, Proyecto Itza began filming a documentary about the development of city planning and the state at Nixtun-Ch’ich’. Nixtun Ch'ich' Nixtun-Ch’ich‘ is a Itza Maya archaeological site in Petén Department, Guatemala. It has an urban grid with fairly well ordered streets and avenues dated to around 2500 years ago. This is one of the earliest urban grids in the Americas and likely emerged as the ancient Maya developed more complex forms of political organization. It was likely a means to regulate and perhaps dominate the inhabitants. Nevertheless, the grid system"
"Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo,"
"new, better era. According to official figures from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), about 50,000 people visited Mexican archaeological sites on 21 December 2012. Of those, 10,000 visited Chichén Itzá in Yucatán, 9,900 visited Tulum in Quintana Roo, and 8,000 visited Palenque in Chiapas. An additional 10,000 people visited Teotihuacan near Mexico City, which is not a Maya site. The main ceremony in Chichén Itzá was held at dawn in the plaza of the Temple of Kukulkán, one of the principal symbols of Maya culture. The archaeological site was opened two hours early to receive thousands of"
"Honduras Honduras (, ; ), officially the Republic of Honduras (), is a country in Central America. It has at times been referred to as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became modern-day Belize. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Honduras was home to several important Mesoamerican cultures, most notably the Maya, before"
"the industry; notably Mayan jungle excursions. Other regions include jungle territories in Africa, Australia, and the South Pacific. The majority of jungle tour operators are concentrated in what is known as the Mayan World or ""Ruta Maya"". The Mayan World encompasses five different countries that hosted the entirety of the Mayan Civilization: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. Most tours consist of visits to popular Mayan archaeological sites such as Tikal, Guatemala, Chichen Itza, and Copan. These day visits will usually consist of a guided tour of a heavily tourist-concentrated Mayan and archaeological site. Tikal and Chichen Itza are"
"have been declared World Heritage Cities by the UNESCO: Alcalá de Henares, Ávila, Cáceres, Córdoba, Cuenca, Ibiza, Mérida, Salamanca, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Tarragona and Toledo. As of October 2016, Spain has 45 total sites inscribed on the list, third only to Italy (51) and China (50). Of these 45 sites, 40 are cultural, 3 are natural, and 2 are mixed (meeting both cultural and natural criteria), as determined by the organization's selection criteria. Other first-class destinations are Seville, Granada, Santander, Oviedo, Gijón, Bilbao and San Sebastián. All of them with historical landmarks and a"
"Intihuatana Intihuatana is a ritual stone in South America associated with the astronomic clock or calendar of the Inca. Its name is derived from the local Quechua language. The most notable Intihuatana is an archaeological site located at Machu Picchu in the Sacred Valley near Machu Picchu, Peru. The name of the stone (coined perhaps by Hiram Bingham) is derived from Quechua: ""inti"" means ""sun"", and ""wata-"" is the verb root ""to tie, hitch (up)"" (""huata-"" is simply a Spanish spelling). The Quechua ""-na"" suffix derives nouns for tools or places. Hence ""inti watana"" is literally an instrument or place"
"Morley published several treatises on Maya hieroglyphics and his interpretations on their meaning. These include a survey of inscriptions at Copán (1920) and a larger study (a massive tome of over 2,000 pages in five volumes) encompassing many of the sites he had investigated in the Petén region (1932–38). Chichen Itza is about 120km (75 miles) southeast of Mérida, on the inland plains of north-central Yucatán. It had been known to Europeans since the first recorded visits by the 16th century ""conquistadores"". During the conquest of Yucatán, the Spanish attempted to establish a capital at Chichén Itzá, but resistance by"
"jewelry. INAH converted the cave into an underground museum, and the objects after being catalogued were returned to their original place so visitors can see them ""in situ"". Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archaeological sites in Mexico; in 2014 it was estimated to receive an average of 1.4 million visitors every year. Tourism has been a factor at Chichen Itza for more than a century. John Lloyd Stephens, who popularized the Maya Yucatán in the public's imagination with his book ""Incidents of Travel in Yucatan"", inspired many to make a pilgrimage to Chichén Itzá. Even before the"
"Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the northwest, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Managua is the country's capital and largest city and is also the third-largest city in Central America, behind Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City. The multi-ethnic population of six million includes people of indigenous, European, African, and Asian heritage. The main language is Spanish. Native tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English. Originally inhabited by various"
"political conflicts surrounding a major international tourism destination based on archaeological heritage. It is also a classic in the anthropology of religion and used as a vivid ethnographic account of New Age spiritualists and their practices. This ethnographic film was shot entirely on location at the archaeological and tourism site of Chichén Itzá and the nearby Maya Indian community of Pisté, Yucatán, México, during the spring equinox of 1995 and 1997. The film was shot during the equinox event at Chichen Itza and includes interviews and footage with New Age Spiritualists, State archaeology authorities, secular tourists, artisans, venders, local political"
"Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand Americas (15) Argentina, Barbados, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Venezuela Europe (36) Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of San Marino, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City (Holy See) Middle East, Africa (32) Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Israel, Jordan, Kingdom"
"of Malta, and Vatican City). These include: Albania, Algeria, Afghanistan, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, the People's Republic of China, Columbia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Grenada, Haiti, Holy See (Vatican City), Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran,"
"Itzan Itzan is a Maya archaeological site located in the municipality of La Libertad in the Petén Department of Guatemala. Various small structures at the site were destroyed in the 1980s during oil exploration activities by Sonpetrol and Basic Resources Ltd, prompting rescue excavations by archaeologists. In spite of its small size, the site appears to have been the most politically important centre in its area, as evidenced by its unusually large quantity of monuments and the size of its major architecture. The site was first occupied in the Middle Preclassic, with occupation continuing to the Late Classic. The ruins"
"and cottages for rent. Ik Kil was a spot on the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in 2010, 2011 and 2014. Ik Kil Ik Kil is a cenote outside Pisté in the Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico. It is located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula and is part of the Ik Kil Archeological Park near Chichen Itza. It is open to the public for swimming and is often included in bus tours. The cenote is open to the sky with the water level about below ground level. There is a carved stairway down to a swimming platform."
"in regions that are now territory of the Republic. In front of the testimonies of those cultures, the Mexico of today pays tribute to the indigenous people of Mexico, in whose example we recognize characteristics of our national originality. The museum's collections include the Stone of the Sun, giant stone heads of the Olmec civilization that were found in the jungles of Tabasco and Veracruz, treasures recovered from the Mayan civilization, at the ""Sacred Cenote"" at Chichen Itza, a replica of the sarcophagal lid from Pacal's tomb at Palenque and ethnological displays of contemporary rural Mexican life. It also has"
"called Chichén Itzá, owned by Juan Sosa. Frederick Catherwood illustrated the book with lithographs depicting the pyramid covered in abundant vegetation on all sides. There are some photographs taken in the beginning of the 20th century that also show the pyramid partially covered by said vegetation. In 1924, the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. requested permission from the Mexican government to carry out explorations and restoration efforts in and around the area of Chichen Itza. In 1927, with the assistance of Mexican archaeologists, they started the task. In April 1931, looking to confirm the hypothesis that the structure"
"Loyola visited the Itza in 1696, he understood the ""Tuluncies"" formed a part of the Itza kingdom. Chinamita The Chinamita or Tulumkis (Nahuatl ""chinamitl"", Mopan ""tulumki"") were a Mopan Maya people who occupied a territory in the eastern Petén Basin and western Belize between the Itza of Nojpetén, within the borders of modern Guatemala, and their allies at Tipuj, now in Belize. In the early 17th century, the Chinamita probably occupied a territory along the Mopan River south of the Yaxhá and Sacnab lakes in Petén, and in neighbouring portions of Belize. In 1698, after the fall of Nojpetén to"
"in accordance with the provisions of the Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972, ratified by Chile in 1980. These cultural sites are the Rapa Nui National Park (1995), the Churches of Chiloé (2000), the historical district of the port city of Valparaíso (2003), Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works (2005) and the mining city Sewell (2006). In 1999 the ""Cultural Heritage Day"" was established as a way to honour and commemorate Chiles cultural heritage. It is an official national event celebrated in May every year. Chile Chile (; ), officially the Republic of Chile"
"del Sur, Ometepe Island, Corn Islands Costa Rica: Montezuma, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Jacó, La Fortuna and Arenal, Nosara, Manuel Antonio National Park Belize: Caye Caulker, San Ignacio Honduras: Bay Islands, Copan Panama: Bocas Del Toro, San Blas Islands, Panama City (especially the Casco Viejo), Lost and Found Jungle Hostel (Las Minas, Chiriqui), Boquete. South America Colombia: Cartagena, Taganga, Tayrona National Natural Park, San Gil, Medellin, Bogota Ecuador: Galapagos Islands, Montañita, Cuenca, Quito, Mompiche Peru: Lima, Ica (Huacachina), Nazca, Arequipa, Puno, Cuzco, Machu Picchu, Máncora, Iquitos Bolivia: Salar de Uyuni, Potosí, La Paz, Titicaca lake Argentina: Iguaçu Falls, Buenos Aires,"