One of our goals at Reefs to Rockies is to provide unique experiences for clients away from the crowds. The effect can apparently be seen on the northeast side of El Castillo during sunrise on the same days, but Chichen Itza isn’t open at that time to visitors.

The head of Kukulkan at the bottom of the steps is lit up as well as seven triangles representing the diamond back of the snake. As the sun starts to set during the equinox, the angle of light striking the northwest side of El Castillo makes it look like a serpent is slithering along the steps. Thousands of visitors visit Chichen Itza during the equinoxes, especially on the designated dates each year (March 21, 2013).Įl Castillo (“The Castle”), Chichen Itza’s central focal point, served as a temple to Kukulkan, the feathered serpent. March 20th or 21st usually marks the spring equinox and September 23rd the fall equinox. The Mayan site of Chichen Itza, located in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, is the most visited archaeological site in the region and even more so during the equinoxes.Įquinox (“equal night”) refers to two periods in the year when the sun is positioned directly over the equator making night and day lengths equal. Hacienda Petac comments on the spring equinox, “…the event summons a bit of nostalgia and appreciation for our culture’s history but also reminds us that the warmth of spring will soon be here.Ever since first hearing about the play of light and shadow on El Castillo during the spring and fall equinoxes, I’ve wanted to see it first-hand. The private estate is nestled on 250 acres in the Maya countryside outside the colonial city of Merida, and located within easy reach of the archaeological zones mentioned above. The spring equinox marked the time to begin planting the corn crop and the autumnal equinox signaled the time to begin the harvest.įor those planning to visit the Spring Equinox in the Yucatan Peninsula this year, consider staying at Hacienda Petac. The Maya measured their lives by the sun, and as such, the equinoxes had practical importance for them as well. With the “arrival of the sun” a beam of light shines over the thousands of worshipers and tourists that come for the event each year. At sunrise during the spring equinox, the sun shines directly between the doorposts into one window of the temple and out the other. The angle of the sun was accounted for in such a way that during the equinox, the cast of the sun forms seven isosceles triangles that resemble a feathered serpent slithering toward its stone head at the base of the pyramid.Īs Chichén Itzà’s serpent is meant to show the might of the gods, Dzibilchaltún’s Temple of the Seven Dolls, which was originally built in 700 AD, demonstrates Mayan architectural precision. The Maya, known for an almost preternatural understanding of astronomy, built the pyramid at Chichén Itzà in honor of their serpent god Kukulkan. The vernal equinox, the day each spring when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun and so night and day are of roughly equal length, falls on March 20th. Chichén Itzà and Dzibilchaltún, both just outside of Mérida, are considered to be the most impressive places in the Yucatan to witness the fusion of Mayan astronomy and architecture.

Uaxcatan group e quinox