Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza needs 1 day: touring the Pyramid of Kukulcán, with its famous light-and-shadow effect on the equinoxes simulating a serpent descending the staircase, the Great Ball Court and the Sacred Cenote, in a single day. November-March avoids the extreme heat and humidity of the Yucatán summer. It's mid-to-high priced by Mexican standards, with a pricier entry fee than other archaeological sites in the country. Chosen one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007, it was the most powerful Mayan city on the Yucatán Peninsula between the 9th and 13th centuries, and its pyramid is built with astronomical precision: 365 steps in total, one for each day of the solar year.