Ichkabal, the hidden jewel of the Mayan culture

To the west of the Lagoon of the seven colors of bacalar it’s found ichkabal, an area in which there are several archaeological sites very close to Dzibanché. Ichkabal is a Mayan settlement that began in the pre-classic period, and is older than Chichén Itzá and Uxmal. Ichkabal is a Mayan word that means ‘between low’.

In the area there are different structures with large dimensions, up to 40 meters high, for example. The total extension is 30 kilometers and a large part of its buildings, temples and pyramids remain undiscovered.

In this archaeological territory, vestiges of the Mayan occupation have been found before the collapse, when the population abandoned these constructions, in the year 900 after Christ. Reason for which, it is considered the most important Mayan city of the Yucatan peninsula.

Ichkabal could have been the most important political center of the pre-Hispanic civilization, as well as the place where the lineage of the Divine Lords of Kanal originated, known to be the most important in the Mayan culture.

Where is Ichkabal located?

Ichkabal is located in the south of Quintana Roo, specifically in the municipality of Bacalar, 40 kilometers west of the Bacalar Lagoon and 9 kilometers northeast of Dzibanché, forming a circuit of Mayan monuments, together with Kinichna and Kohunlich.

These monumental buildings were covered by jungle formations, which complicated their discovery in other times of important archaeological findings. Reason why today it generates such an impact, taking into account its historical and cultural relevance. During the 1930s, it was the archaeologist César Lizardi Ramos who recorded approximations to this discovery near the Ichkabal area.

It was within this context and through the record left by Lizardi Ramos, that the specialist from the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH), Javier López Camacho found the Ichkabal monuments, while he was in another much smaller archaeological territory, Baptized by Lizardi Ramos as “Las Higueras”. This accidental discovery gave way to new hypotheses about the Mayan civilization.

their structures

In Ichkabal, each of the buildings has its own characteristics. There are 3 monumental structures and some slightly smaller ones. Building 4, the tallest, is 40 meters. In the same way, among several of the structures, there is an open square of approximately 300 meters.

To the east, there is another large 40-meter building with a larger base, named building 1, which to the south presents another structure with moderate height. In addition, Ichkabal has a lagoon or watering hole measuring 80×60 meters with an almost perfect rectangle. This lagoon has stones on its shores that prevent erosion, and has been preserved since the Mayan occupation.

Ichkabal, being totally virgin and isolated from modern civilization, was hardly distinguishable from the natural formations, despite the fact that the largest buildings could be identified, while the more moderate ones remained hidden under the vegetation.

Due to the above, the effort of expert archaeologists was needed to explore and clear the area for its subsequent tourist development, this being the objective of the State Secretary of Tourism.

The Federal Government, that of Quintana Roo and the Municipality of Bacalar, took actions to begin the study of the archaeological zone in 2009, concentrating on the exploration and unearthing of 4 important mounds, which covered the so-called 1, 4, 5 and a set of buildings called the 5 brothers.

When will Ichkabal be open?

This Thursday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador reported that he will explore and restore this archaeological site to open it to the public. “We are going to explore and restore with the purpose of opening to the public a site known as Ichkabal, very close to the Laguna de los siete colores de Bacalar,” he said in a video shared on Twitter where he shows the archaeological zone.

Authorities are currently busy sprucing up the area and undertaking restoration efforts to prepare the site for mass tourism. Meanwhile, the arrival of thousands of visitors generate a steady stream of income for the region, helping to further preserve the priceless ruins.

The Mayan Train, the Mexican government’s flagship infrastructure project, will make it easier than ever for tourists to access the ancient site. The official opening is scheduled for mid-2023, just before the Mayan Train is complete.

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