Xunantunich Gallery: El Castillo, the Frieze & the Plazas

Photographs of the Xunantunich Mayan Ruins — El Castillo, the frieze, the plazas and the approach. Click any image to enlarge.

El Castillo at Xunantunich, the decorated frieze band visible below the upper temple — El Castillo — 130 feet, second-tallest structure in Belize

Close-up of the stucco frieze on El Castillo at Xunantunich — The frieze. What you see is a replica — the originals are sealed underneath

Xunantunich Mayan ruins rising above the jungle canopy in Cayo District, Belize — The ridge-top core above the Mopan River valley

Site map board at Xunantunich Archaeological Reserve showing the plazas and structure groups — The site map board at the entrance — Plazas A-I to A-III, Groups B, C and D. No ball court

Visitors on a guided tour of the plazas at Xunantunich — Groups are capped at 15 visitors per guide by NICH rule

The main plaza and surrounding structures at Xunantunich, Belize — Plaza A-I, looking away from El Castillo

Stone structures at the Xunantunich archaeological site in western Belize — The plazas are mown grass and open to the sun — there is no shade up here

The structures and plazas of Xunantunich seen from above — A-1 and A-13 close the ceremonial core off — both built in the 9th century

Visitors on the approach path to the Xunantunich Mayan ruins — The approach. It is a mile uphill from the ferry to the entrance

Two further images supplied with this site were withheld. One shows large ashlar masonry with a roof comb that does not match El Castillo; the other shows forested, leaf-littered ground where Xunantunich's plazas are mown grass. Neither could be confirmed as Xunantunich, so neither is here.

What you are looking at — the structures →