Sneak peek into an LDS Tour at Chichen Itza | LDS Tours Cancun
Many of you have asked us about what a tour to Chichen Itza is like, so we thought you might enjoy this email we recently received from one of our clients sharing her experience on an LDS Tour to Chichen Itza with Alma’s LDS Tours. Please, check it out!
Stacey Hann, from Bountiful, Utah wrote:
“I just want to let you guys know what an incredible job Arny did on our tour, and how much fun it was for my whole family to be on this tour. We’ve done many tours in the past, but we’ve never done an LDS theme tour to ruins, and my whole family absolutely loved it. From the moment we were picked up at our hotel, I thought it was so convenient to have someone waiting for us at the front lobby and not have to go to a meeting point or getting any extra cab somewhere to be on the tour. The ride to Chichen Itza was a little long, but Arny did his best to keep us entertained, and the vehicle had air conditioning, great sound, and entertainment system, and we even got to watch the movie ‘Coco‘ on our way back to our hotel. Then we got to Chichen Itza, and here are some fascinating things that we learned from Arny.
On our last trip to Chichen Itza, we had Arny as our tour guide. We arrived at the site early in the morning, so we were a group of six people fresh and ready to explore it. As we entered the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, it was impossible not to be impressed by the wall surrounding the temple grounds. It was like every part of it was telling a story itself. As we walked a little further, we saw a sign declaring Chichen Itza as World heritage by UNESCO. Then, we passed by some local vendors before we made it to the temple of Kukulkan, one of the main structures, and one that I personally consider the most impressive from the whole ruins.
Arny explained a lot of interesting facts about the Kukulkan temple and its meaning to the Mayan civilization. With his particular ability to teach and share, he made sure to keep us captivated with all the insights about the Mayan people. We learned from him that this majestic temple, also known as ‘El Castillo‘, was built by the Mayan Itzaes, in the capital of the city of Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico, during the Classic Period. I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing; this temple was over a thousand years old and still standing there as if the time hadn’t passed by, with perfect angles and well-designed architecture.
Then our tour guide taught us about the Mayan calendars and the symbolisms between each one of them and the Temple of Kukulkan, which fascinated me even more. Let me add that we learned this temple was dedicated to honor and to worship the God Kukulkan or feathered serpent, a deity who helped predict the rains and sweep the earth clean. The fascinating part about all of this was learning that two calendars were used, the first calendar called Haab includes 18 months, each month with 20 days, which summed up is equal to 360 days, but this calendar also had five extra days, which gives a total of 365 days. The second calendar, Tzolkin or Tzolk’in, with 13 months, each month with 20 days, giving a total of 260 days. Isn’t it amazing? Learning about the Mayan system to calendarize the months was the highlight of the trip for me.
Arny then took us to see the main ball court, called Pok Ta’ Pok or ball game, the Observatory, the temple of the Skulls, the Sacred Cenote, and much more. We finalized our day with a delicious Mexican traditional buffet and then enjoyed a dive in one of the most famous cenotes or sinkholes. It is a beautiful tour, and I recommend it to everyone. The attention, the confidence you feel, and the beautiful experience of listening to the wonderful knowledge of the guide made of this a really wonderful experience with a wonderful team. Definitely, there is a lot to see in Chichen Itza, and what better way to see it than with Alma’s LDS Tours.”
Just like this review, we have many more from countless happy customers. We have taken hundreds of families to Chichen Itza and they all have had fabulous experiences touring with us.
Alma’s LDS Tours offers a great variety of tours where you can keep learning more about the history of this and more Mayan culture.
Here is a list of our most popular tours:
