Which ancient Mayan pyramid is located at Chichen Itza in Mexico?

The ancient Mayan pyramid at Chichen Itza in Mexico is El Castillo, also known as the Temple of Kukulcan.

El Castillo dominates the center of the archaeological site at Chichen Itza in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Built by the Maya between approximately the 8th and 12th centuries CE, the limestone step pyramid was dedicated to Kukulcan, the Yucatec Maya feathered-serpent deity. The visible pyramid is about 24 meters high, with a temple adding roughly six more meters.

Each side has a broad staircase, and the structure is traditionally associated with the number 365: about 91 steps on each of four sides, plus the upper temple platform. Around the equinoxes, sunlight creates triangular shadows along the northern balustrade that resemble a feathered serpent descending toward a carved serpent head. Scholars debate how deliberately the effect was engineered, but the alignment is one of the site’s most famous features.

Visitors often confuse El Castillo with pyramids at Tikal or Teotihuacan. Unlike those structures, this pyramid is specifically the central temple of Chichen Itza and is now closed to climbing for conservation and visitor safety.