Just 80 miles east of Merida, on a highway that cuts almost straight through dry scrub forest towards Valladolid and  Cancun, Chichen-Itza suddenly looms above the treetops. It's an impressive sight.

Chichen-Itza was built late in relation to more southerly Maya areas. Major buildings weren't begun until possibly 600 A.D.  Late in the 10th century the Toltecs arrived from central Mexico, following  their god-ruler Quetzalcoatl in 987 A.D. This god, the Plumed Serpent, is known here as Kukulcan.

At about the same time a new group arrived from the southern part of the peninsula. Called "tricksters and rascals" by the natives, these Itza proceeded to take charge. Eventually they moved on to  northern Guatemala, where they established an equally poor  reputation.

The architectural and artistic differences between the older, pure Maya constructions and the newer, Toltec-inspired sections is pronounced. When the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, the city had been reclaimed by the jungle.

About 300 yards down a dirt path from the  main grounds lies the ominous Sacred Cenote. In 1885 the U.S. consul in Yucatan, Edward H. Thompson, purchased the abandoned site. In 1904 he dredged the cenote and verified the legends of  sacrificial humans and valuables being cast into the sinkhole as offerings to  the Maya gods. Offerings to Chaac, the crooked-nosed rain god, were particularly  significant in this lakeless, riverless region where water was precious.