| Page Views: 5,298 Last Visit to Palenque: December, 2003 | Palenque by atufft - last update: Apr 20, 2007 |
Palenque Ruins are scattered across a hillside | Overview of Central Palenque |
Unlike most of the Mayan ruins to the south, Palenque was a city built into a vast hillside region. The city flourished from around 300 to 900 AD, but the long rules two related kings provided a 60 year period of peaceful and productive stability during the 7th century AD. Most of the ruins visited today date from this period and images of these rulers are in numerous reliefs on the buildings. |
|  | Palenque is very popular with tourists Well maintained by the Mexican government, Palenque is very popular with tourists. Climbing around the trails and up to the tops of buildings requires some stamina though, so it's possible to get away from the crowds too. Most of the ruins can be visited in one day, as the city isn't so spread out. We arrived in the evening in time to follow a closing guard who flushed out the tourists as he walked from the exit to the entrance of the park. |
| | During daylight, I retraced my steps Retracing the trail the guard had showed me, I retraced and expanding upon the exploration of the ruins, taking many photos. My wife and I split up and we met again at the tourist center where there's a restaurant and gift shop. Palenque was the first of several Mayan cities that we visited. We also visited Yaxchilan, Tikal, and El Ceibal (near Sayaxche). These were part of a tour that included stays in Flores and Sayaxche. We also visited on this trip several Mayan towns in the highlands of Guatemala, including Coban, Uspantan, Sacapulas, Lago Atitlan, Huehuetenango, and, in Mexico, San Cristobal de Las Casas, respectively. |
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| Pros: | "Rainforest Shrouded Mayan Ruins of First Tier Interest" | | Cons: | "Somewhat Overrun by Tourists" | | In A Nutshell: | "Palenque is One of the Great Mayan Ruins That Shouldn't Be Missed" |
atufft's Palenque Travel Tips
 Comments for atufft about Palenque | | | | |
KimberlyAnn Sat Dec 29, 2007 15:52 UTC
A very interesting paage. I love ruins, and this one seems to have a lot to offer. | monina_c Tue Jun 26, 2007 08:21 UTC
Hahaha! Your con is the reason I hesitated to post a favorite destination in Trekki's (Ingrid) listing. Selfish of me! BTW, thanks for the Sagada ratings! | TheWanderingCamel Tue Apr 17, 2007 06:16 UTC
Palenque is high on my list of ruins to be seen. Have you read Rose McAuley's "The Pleasure of Ruins" - she says it all. leyle | SLLiew Thu Feb 15, 2007 02:35 UTC
Thanks for Palenque. Have not been there. Interesting that you went there twice, a first quick taste at night closing and then a more relaxing thorough visit next day. Happened to me also for a few places, gives a different travel experience. |
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