Backpacking in Mexico: The Mayan Ruins of Palenque

August 11 2021
Visiting the Zona Arqueológica Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico:

included in this post:

1. ​How to get to the archaeological ruins of Palenque

2. The double entrance fees at Palenque explained
​The ancient Mayan city of Palenque in the state of Chiapas, Mexico one of the top archaeological sites in Mexico and definitely one not to be missed.

Many make a tour from San Cristobal but it's a long 18-hour day and you spend much of that time inside the minivan.
​But having travelled back into Mexico from Guatemala, from Flores to Palenque, 2nd on my 'to do list', was visiting the ancient city of Palenque (1st on my 'to do list', was getting vaccinated!) under my own steam.

So having recovered and rested for the 2 days following my 1st Covid-19 shot, I made the very short journey out to the ruins.

They are that close to town, that had it been 20 degrees cooler, I would have walked there and back.

Temple Of The Inscriptions:
I always like to post a couple of selfies to add some 'truthfulness' to the post. I only blog about places I have visited and here is the proof.

The number of blogs I have come across recently of where the author has simply invented content based on other blogs and used stock photos throughout has increased dramatically.
​Palenque: It has been found that Palenque existed as long ago as 150BC when it was just a small village but grew to become one of the most important Mayan cities of the Classic Period (250 - 900 AD) and was the capital of a powerful Dynasty that ruled extensive regions of what day are the states of Chiapas and Tabasco.

The site is about 2.5km² though archaeologists are thinking that only 10% of what lies out there has been discovered.

So enough details as I am sure you are only here for the photos. Enjoy!
​Temple of the Skull:
Temple of The Count:
Temple of the sun:

How to get to the archaeological ruins of Palenque

Public colectivos run regularly from town. They depart every 20 minutes or so, more frequently at busier times from 29960, 3a. Pte. Nte. 2, Centro, Palenque, Chis., Mexico and the fare is 20MXN
​The driver will stop at 17°29′16.73″N 92°02′27.33″W which is the ticket office as of August 2021, next to the Palenque Site Museum "Alberto Ruz Lhuillier".

​The double entrance fees at Palenque explained

First you pay the National Park fee of 90MXN and you are given a wrist band and then at a different counter, you pay the site entry fee of 80MXN and are given a ticket:
You are still 1.5km short of the entrance to the archaeological site. Your colectivo has long since gone so unless you want to pay again, or try hitchhiking, a very unpopular thing to do during Covid, it's just a question of putting one foot in front of the other for 15-20 minutes until you've covered that 1.5km. Chances are you need the exercise anyway!

Notes:

There is sadly no more scrambling up and down the steps at Palenque!

This blog post is the property of NomadicBackpacker. If you are reading somewhere else, it has been copied so please contact me asap: nomadicbackpacker [at] protonmail [dot] com

​Tagged under: Mexico

Related Posts: