There are 121 steps to the top of the Mayan pyramid Uxmal, each just six inches wide, so narrow you cannot climb them normally. The safest way up or down is to sit-slide, or sidestep leg over leg. Either way, it is wise to hold onto the iron chain that has been added by modern, tourist-oriented architects.
The acoustics from this temple in Mexico's Yucatan are awesome. Audiences that heard priestly sermons a thousand years ago now hear conversations by climbers - and their exclamations of terror when they reach the top and look down.
Uxmal means "best corn", and the fertile valley spreads below, dotted with smaller pyramids and temples. This was a ceremonial city for the Mayans, so everything here is a grand scale, with huge terraces, courtyards and many temples smaller than the Temple of the Magicians.
The intricate stonework that crowns the Governor's Palace is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful of any Mayan ruin.
Uxmal is not as famous Chichen Itza, or the ruins of Tulum just outside Cancun. This is good. It means Uxmal is not as crowded, and you are more likely to have a serene moment or two channeling the past.
Also nearby is Kabah, whose ruins include the incredible 30-room Palace of Masks, also known as Codz Pop. The front of this three-story palace is decorated with 260 carved masks of the god Choc - one for each day of the ritual Mayan calendar. The huge stone figures on the rear façade wear headdresses that reminded me of the statues I saw in Egypt's Valley of the Kings.
Mayan pyramids bear an uncanny resemblance to Egyptian pyramids. Mayan headdresses also bear an uncanny resemblance to Egyptian headdresses. It makes you wonder.
