We had been to Izamal many years ago, so when planning a trip with our teens, we decided to go back and visit this little “yellow city”. One of the neat things about Izamal is that there are pyramids right in the city, just blocks from the center square where the famous monastery is.

Getting to Izamal is easy. We drove from Valladolid to Izamal, but it is also a popular destination from Merida. There were plenty of signs along the way for Izamal, and Google Maps also guided us to the city.

We parked along the main square in our rented car. If you are driving, be sure to look for appropriate parking. There are signs marked “Estacionamiento” and also ones marked with an “E” with a red slash.

The main square has shopping, food, horse-drawn carriages, etc.

We rented a car but took a horse drawn carriage to the ruins. The site is only about 3 blocks from the monastery, so it is not a far ride, whether you walk or take other transportation.

Our guide parked the carriage at the bottom of the ruins and gave us time to go explore. (In this photo, the ruins are to the left).

This is the site of Kinich Kakmo, which is a pyramid built for the sun god. There is no entrance fee for this ruin, so we simply walked up to the top and back down.

The view of the street below. Our carriage was parked right near the turquoise truck and the large red doors.

There were some informational signs along the way. This site was built around 400-600 A.D.

The site was popular, but not overly crowded.

It was a super hot day, and I remember how intense the sun was. I definitely recommend some water and sun protection.

The pyramid is only partially restored, and there weren’t any particularly special details (no carvings, etc).

The final ascent was definitely physically challenging, at least in the hot midday sun.

The view from the top. You can see the convent from all the way up here.

There are ruins throughout the town of Izamal (I believe about a dozen). Our guide stopped at a number of the ruins to view them from the carriage. We did not get out or explore any of the these additional ruins.

While this is one of the smaller ruins we visited, it was nice to check out. I don’t know that I would come to Izamal solely for the purpose of seeing Kinich Kakmó, but it is worth seeing if you are in or around town.

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Marysa

About the Author: Marysa

Busy blogger and mom of two girls! We love traveling and the great outdoors, and are always looking for our next adventure!