El Caracol, the Observatory, is a unique structure at pre-Columbian Maya civilization site of Chichen Itza. El Caracol , which means 'snail' in Spanish, is so named due to the spiral staircase inside the tower.

May 14, 2013 · Slowly eroding in the world-famous Mayan city of Chichen Itza, the El Caracol “observatory” stands as a monument to the architectural skill of the ancient Maya civilization, as well as their ...

May 24, 2019 · A Mayan pyramid, El Castillo, has windows in the top of the pyramid, aligned with sunrises at the solstices and alignments with the sunset points of the equinoxes. It is located in the pre-Columbian city of Chichen Itza, one of the most famous Maya cities, which – like Uxmal - flourished around 800 AD.

The tower atop El Caracol sits high on a four-cornered but not quite square platform and gives excellent unobstructed views of the skies and surrounding landscape. In particular, El Caracol seems to be carefully aligned with the motions of Venus .

Jan 21, 2024 · El Caracol—whose name originates from the inner spiral staircase inside the tower—is in fact, a combination of three superimposed buildings. El Caracol was specifically designed by the Maya as a building that would allow them to see what was above the horizon.

Called El Caracol (the Snail) by the Spaniards for its interior spiral staircase, this observatory, to the south of the El Osario, is one of the most fascinating and important of all Chichén Itzá’s buildings. Its circular design resembles some central highlands structures, although, surprisingly, not those of Toltec Tula.

Sep 22, 2023 · Standing unique among ancient structures, Chichén Itzá’s enigmatic “Observatory”, El Caracol, may be the world’s most mysterious and distinctive stone monument. It was built by the Maya of the Yucatán, Mexico, over a millennium ago, as part of a larger city, but when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, they found it abandoned ...

Las torres redondas son un rasgo bastante excepcional en la arquitectura maya y, aunque existen algunos ejemplos de la misma época, la estructura del Caracol es la más elaborada y majestuosa. La fachada está adornada con mascarones y figuras humanas rodeadas por plumas.

The Observatory is also known as El Caracol which is Spanish for snail as a spiral staircase inside the ruins does resemble a snail’s shell. The structure was likely built around 906 CE.

Feb 28, 2024 · El Caracol, or the Observatory, is a remarkable structure of the pre-Columbian era that nestles at the very heart of the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza on the eastern Yucatán Peninsula, nowadays southeast Mexico.