Day 315 – Palenque

Palenque Ruins

Today we woke up and had breakfast at our hostel Casa Janaab. After breakfast we walked back towards the ADO Bus station. 

In front of the ADO station, close to the roundabout, is the stop for the collectivos to the ruins. The collectivo said “Ruinas” on the front. We told the driver that we wish to get off at the museum. The trip cost 20 MXN / $1.51 AUD per person.

There are two sets of tickets into the site. The first was purchased while we sat inside the collectivo, costing 39 MXN / $2.95 AUD per person. 

Palenque Site Museum

At the museum we got the 2nd set of tickets for 75 MXN / $5.67 AUD per person. The tickets include the archaeological site and the museum. 

By starting at the museum, we were sorta going backwards from the typical route. Mainly so that we didn’t need a guide. The museum is of a decent size with Spanish and English explanations.

It was surprising how well most of the artefacts were preserved. The details on the statues and tablets were very impressive.

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The highlight of the museum is the recreation of the tomb of Pakal. The coffin itself is massive and decorated beautifully. The information is presented very well and recreates what the burial chamber would have looked like. 

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We spent an hour at the museum.

Palenque Archaeological Site Ruins

From the museum there is only a short 5 minute walk to the site. At the site, we walked along a nice shaded path towards the ruins that were mainly uphill.

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Our first ruins were small and still surrounded by trees. It gave a very Indian Jones feel to walking around. The Complex of the Bats and Complex B are very small and quiet since most people skip them.

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The main site is another short walk away and has been thoroughly cleared of trees. The temples and buildings are in much better shape and are massive.

The majority of the buildings have no barriers preventing climbing, which is really cool. There is nice informational signs throughout the site in both Spanish and English. 

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The Palace is a massive structure with beautiful and unique architecture. The tower in the middle is very cool. There are nice murals to see, mainly in the courtyard. There is also an entry into a underground passage, that leads to a throne/bed. We only discovered this by seeing a guide bringing tourists out of the passage.

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Next was the Temple of the Inscriptions, which you can’t climb. This temple housed the funeral chamber of Pakal, which was recreated at the museum.

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The next highlight is the Temple of the Cross Complex. The temples around here are built on a nice mountain vantage point and overlook the Palace. The comb structure on top of the Temple of the Cross is very cool.

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From here, there are some less visited smaller temples that have some cool murals, which I think are worth looking at. 

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We left the site around 3.30pm, through the front/main entrance. We spent around 4 hours at the site, but we did read every sign and have a packed lunch. Here we found a waiting collectivo into town. As the collectivo approached the ADO Terminal/roundabout with large statue head, we told the driver we wanted to get off.

In town…

In town we went back to the supermarket Chedraui for supplies. After talking to a handful of tour agencies and transport companies we booked a tour to Yaxchilan and Bonampak with Tulum Travel Agent.