Chiapas IV: Palenque

On our last morning we went to the ruins at Palenque. These are the most accessible and the most visited of the three we saw, but even so, the crowds were not overwhelming!


Here we are, the intrepid tourists! This is at Palenque; behind my mother is the Temple of Inscriptions, and behind Ian is the Palace complex.


The map of Palenque. Sadly, parts of it were closed, but we still tromped up and down and had a good time. It was blazing hot, and the sun felt much stronger than it had in the other two ruins. The place was overrun with tourists - mostly French - who were having to walk quite a way to get to the entrance because there was a great big hole in the road that prevented buses from getting past. To give credit where credit is due, they climbed all the ruins and listened to their guides after that long, hot walk!


Palenque, as seen from the top of the Temple of the Cross. The ruins are situated in the first string of hills above the flat plain that is now northern Chiapas and Tabasco states. Straight north lies the Gulf of Mexico.


The Temple of Inscriptions. It was off-limits for climbing, but it's part of the iconic view of Palenque.


This is the Palace complex seen from above. The double arch (see photo below) is behind the trees in the lower right corner. The Palace has an underground series of rooms and halls that is open for exploration as well as sunken plazas and the square observation tower.


This is an awesome double arch feature in the Palace pyramid complex. This is a must-have for any house Ian and I might eventually buy or build.


The Dali-was-here steps up to a temple group across the plaza from the main buildings.


A small temple near the Temple of the Cross. It had awesome views of the site even though the approach was not the easiest. It had interesting glyphs and carvings at the top.


The steps up the Temple of the Cross. They're very steep - it's not just the angle!


Ian and I demonstrate the size of this tree. The trees are impressively huge, and the thin soil causes their roots to curl around above ground wonderfully.


This ruin had passages with stairs connecting what now appears to be the roof with the ground floor. Note the size of the steps, and remember that these were small people (based on both knowledge that they were small and empirical evidence in the height of the ceilings).


I love seeing the power of the jungle to reclaim its space! The excavation of the Palenque ruins took tremendous effort, and the effort is ongoing to keep the jungle at bay.


The "Queen's Bath" waterfalls, below the main site of Palenque, were so beautiful they looked fake. Pools of water, long chutes, trickles down the rocks, and tons of vegetation made this spot amazing after the blazing sunlight and heat of the upper parts of the ruin. Near this site are what were probably residential zones. The contrast between the larger-than-life commercial and religious areas and the residential spaces is astounding.

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No trip to the jungle is complete without the hopelessly exotic flower pictures. These were, true to form, growing in the garden at the entry to the site.