Aerial view of Chichén Itzá, an ancient Mayan city with large stone pyramids and temples, surrounded by lush jungle, with many people in plazas.

A wide panoramic view of Chichén Itzá at its height around 900–1100 CE, seen from an elevated vantage point above the ceremonial center. Monumental limestone structures rise from the surrounding jungle, dominated by the stepped pyramid of El Castillo (Temple of Kukulcán) at the heart of the city. Nearby stand large stone temples, colonnaded halls, ball courts, and ceremonial platforms arranged around broad plazas connected by white limestone causeways (sacbeob). Smaller residential and administrative buildings extend outward toward the forest edge. People in woven cotton garments move through the plazas, participate in markets and rituals, and gather near temples. Dense green jungle surrounds the city, with humid air and dramatic tropical light. Ultra-wide panoramic composition, historically grounded reconstruction, no modern elements, no depictions of violence or sacrifice. See more