Yaxchilan

Yaxchilán is an archaeological site in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico. At its peak, Yaxchilan was one of the largest and most powerful city-states in the Mayan realm, though today, its remote location makes it a challenging site to visit for all but the most determined explorers.

Yaxchilán has many pyramids hidden in the ever-encroaching jungle.

Understand

Yaxchilán is a very large site located deep within the Lacodon jungle on the Usumacinta River (the border between Mexico and Guatemala). Roads do not go all the way to the archaeological site, so you will need to take a boat to get there. The site has been well documented and explored by various archaeological expeditions, and it's a well-maintained site administered by the INAH, however, its remote location makes it one of the least popular archaeological sites for travelers to visit. Most foreign tourists prefer sites that can be easily reached by air-conditioned luxury coaches. You will see few fellow visitors at Yaxchilán.

History

Lintel 24 is one of several Yaxchilan lintels stolen by an English archaeological pirate in the late 19th century. It is displayed in the British Museum.

Life was short and cheap in the Mayan world, especially in the city-states along the Usumacinta River where somebody was always fighting somebody. But wait, let's start at the beginning....

The city of Yaxchilán got its start as a jungle village just around the time that some guy named Jesus Christ was shaking up the religious world on the other side of the globe. Yaxchilan grew in size and power and by the year 359 AD had amassed enough local political clout (or chutzpah) to crown a king: Yopaat B'alam I was the first of a line of Yaxchilan kings whose dynasty would last for centuries.

A lot is made of Yaxchilán and its constant rivalry with the city-state of Piedras Negras, which lies about 32 km (20 miles) upriver but on the opposite side of the river (in what is now Guatemala). The two cities did frequently clash, but the warriors of Yaxchilán also liked to bully their smaller city-state neighbor, Bonampak. Yaxchilán also had an on-again/off-again alliance or war with the large city-state of Tikal. Maybe if the Mayan had been better team players their cities would have lasted longer, but once they ramped up to a steady state of war by about 700 AD, they were pretty much committed, and by about 1000 AD they'd pretty much killed off everyone who could raise a spear and all of the city-states of the Usumacinta region became ghost towns.

By the time Spanish conquistadors arrived to gawk at the fabulous temples and plazas of Yaxchilan, they could only be disappointed. There just weren't any Maya for them to enslave or infect with their nasty European diseases! And so they trekked back to Mexico City where civilization had invented tacos and hora feliz.

Get in

Boats to Yaxchilán

	Notice: As of January 2024, Yaxchilán is inaccessible due to cartel-related violence in the area.
	(Information last updated 04 Feb 2024)

You can't drive or take a bus directly to Yaxchilán, you need to go to Frontera Corozal, and from there, take a 1-hour boat ride on the Usumacinta River to get to Yaxchilan. The river is fairly shallow and rocky in places, but the boats draw little draft and the Lacodon river guides know the waters.

From Palenque, it is a 2-1/2 hour drive to Frontera Corozal. A taxi will likely cost about M$1500. Combi service from Palenque to Frontera Corozal is available from Transporte Caramelo. They operate clean, modern Toyota vans and 1-way fare costs M$100. Combis run frequently starting at 6am from their stop near the ADO bus terminal in Palenque.

By boat

Boats can take you across the river from Guatemala to Frontera Corozal. This is an official border crossing. Boats crossing from Frontera Corozal to Guatemala cost M$50. Chicken buses can take you to Flores or other destinations. The immigration station for Guatemala is in the nearby town of Bethel. Combis from the boat landing to Bethel cost 10 quetzal.

• 1 Oficina Migración. INM (Immigration Office), Caseta Pasaporte, Barrio Alfredo Junto al Escudo del Jaguar, Frontera Corozal (near riverfront). You will need to show passports and visas etc. when arriving from Guatemala (possibly also when leaving Mexico to enter Guatemala). There are generally no fees to enter/depart here. See country articles for Mexico and Guatemala for immigration details. (updated Feb 2024)

Fees and permits

The Yaxchilan archaeological site is open 08:00 - 17:00 daily. The official INAH admission price is M$80 (though costs for transportation and guides will be quite a bit more). Additional permit fees are charged if you have "professional" photography equipment or video cameras.

Get around

Site map of Yaxchilán

The only way to reach the site entrance is by boat from the riverfront in Frontera Corazol. A boat can typically be hired for about M$1000. If you're traveling alone, try to find another single traveler to split the cost. The ride to the archaeological site takes about 40 minutes. Boat captains will typically wait 2 hours for you to return (but discuss and confirm with the captain before you go walking around the site).

In the town of Frontera Corazol, you can get around by foot pretty well, though moto taxis (tuk-tuk) are common, cheap, and the preferred way to buzz around town.

See

The archaeological site represents a large, complex city. Most visitors to the site spend about 2 hours exploring the ruins, though there is a lot to explore and the curious archaeological traveler can easily spend the better part of a day. The site includes 3 acropolises (or is that acropoli?) and more than 120 monuments, including stelae and lintels. Yaxchilan is known for having more intact lintels (relief sculptures) than any other Mayan site.

• Great Acropolis - The largest of the site's 3 acropolis is the Great Acropolis, which was built in parallel to the west bank of the Usumacinta River. Anthropologists believe it was either a royal palace or a residential structure for the city's elite. Two other acropolises are atop the south and the west hill.

• Structure 44 - Built by King Shield Jaguar I, a series of lintels portrays the king's various military adventures and victories.

• Structure 42 - Built by King Bird Jaguar IV, a central lintel portrays the king while adjacent lintels portray his captains and priests.

• Stone piling - A stone piling in the Usumacinta River is thought to have been either the base for a dock, or for a bridge that crossed the river.

• Labyrinths - Structure 19 has a series of underground corridors beneath it, most leading to various small basement rooms, but one of the corridors remains sealed and unexplored.

Eat

No food is available within the archaeological zone but there are several places to get food in the town of Frontera Corazal. Several informal street food vendors in Frontera Corazal, hotels will either have a restaurant on-site or can advise you where to find nearby food, and there are a couple of pleasant open-air restaurants.

• 1 Restaurante Corazon de la Selva, Agua Azul, Frontera Corazal, ☏ +502 4674 5850. Daily 07:00 - 18:00. Clean, modern open air restaurant serving traditional Mexican cuisine. M$200. 

• 2 Maya Ch'ol, Segunda Nte. Pte., Alfredo, Frontera Corazal. Traditional Mexican cuisine. M$100. 

Sleep

Lodging

Rooms are available at the embarkation point where you meet the boatmen to take you upriver.

• 1 Hotel Nueva Alianza, Alfredo, Frontera Corazol (near the riverfront), ☏ +502 33003736. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Convenient location near the beach where boatmen keep their boats. Rustic, but comfortable lodging in a cabana. Mosquito netting provided. Restaurant on site. M$1000. (updated Jan 2023)
• 2 Escudo Jaguar, Frontera Corazal, ☏ +52 9671019387. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Basic, riverfront cabana. Bunks with mosquito netting, fan but no air conditioning. Next to beach where you meet the boatmen to take you to Yaxchilán. M$1000. (updated Jan 2023)

Camping

Camping is not permitted in the archaeological site.

Go next

• Bonampak
• Palenque
• Tenosique