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Planning a trip to Edzna? Then check out my complete guide with ticket prices, how to get there, what to see and top travel tips!
Sometimes I find it really difficult not to contradict myself. When I visited Uxmal, I was like “this place is so much better than Chichen Itza – this is the only Mayan temple you should visit in Mexcio…” Then a few days later I visited Edzna, another absolutely stunning ancient Mayan city, and I’m like: “THIS place is the best, it is so much better than Chichen Itza and Uxmal.”
If I had to pick a favourite Mayan temple (and I’ve been to a fair few now in Mexico), I would say Edzna. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved Chichen Itza and Uxmal, but Edzna feels so special. And I’m about to tell you why, so keep on reading.
Even though Edzna is definitely tucked away and not on everyone’s Yucatan itinerary, I think it’s worth the detour. One of the things why I think it’s so alluring is it’s still shrouded in mystery (more on that below). Also, I love the fact you can still climb some of the pyramids here. Some Mayan sites like Chichen Itza you’re not allowed to, so that’s another bonus.
If you’re looking at visiting Edzna, then this is the guide for you. In it I’ll explain the history of the temples, how much it costs to enter, and loads of other advice and tips too. I really hope you enjoy it at Edzna! And let me know what your favourite Mayan temple is in the comments below!
Contents:
Where is Edzna?
Edzna is located in the state of Campeche, about 55km from Campeche City. This makes it an ideal day trip from there, which is exactly what we did. Like a lot of Mayan sites in this part of Mexico, it sits well off the beaten track, and that’s a big part of its charm.
We jumped in our hire car early one morning – mainly to beat the heat, which can absolutely ferocious – and headed southeast out of the city. The drive is straightforward, following Highway 180 and then the signs towards the site. Once you leave Campeche behind, the road gets quieter and the jungle starts closing in around you. I found it a really lovely drive. Overall, the drive takes 50 minutes to 1 hour.
If you’re driving, you can check out my guide to driving in the Yucatan which is packed full of advice and info on what to do (and what not to do!)
If you’re travelling on a budget, the colectivo is your best option. Head to the corner of Calle Nicaragua and Calle Chihuahua, where colectivos leave approximately every 30 minutes. Just ask the driver to drop you at the ruinas. The ride takes about an hour and costs around 60-80 MXN each way. One thing to watch out for: the driver will drop you at the intersection near the entrance, so you’ll need to walk a few hundred metres to the ticket booth. It’s all fairly straightforward though.
If colectivos aren’t your thing, sharing a taxi from Campeche is another solid option and works out very reasonable when split between a group. There are also guided tours like this one departing from Campeche that will handle all the logistics for you, which is a great shout if you want some context and history thrown in alongside the transport.
If you’re in Campeche though, then I’m guessing the majority of you will have a car making the journey really easy.
How much are tickets at Edzna?
I found it super difficult getting up-to-date information on Uxmal and Edzna, which is why I wanted to write guides about both of them. As of writing this, tickets were $210 per person – that’s approximately £9/US$12). That’s considerably cheaper than Uxmal and Chichen Itza. Just another reason why I love the place!
One other thing to note is you have to pay in cash. The ruins at Edzna are open from 8:00 am and close at 5:00 pm, every day of the week, all year round. Last access is one hour before closing time.
The history of Edzna ruins
The thing that I loved about Edzna is it lures you in. Once you get your ticket at a very unassuming ticket booth, you visit a small museum. It’s cool, but it’s not the ruins. Then you follow a small path through the forest wondering where the hell the ruins are. It’s very easy to see why these Mayan sites laid undiscovered for so long. Then, almost when you start questioning if you’re heading the right way, these great pyramids start to emerge through the trees. Indiana Jones, eat your heart out.
Edzna’s history spans an extraordinary timeframe. This was from 400 BC all the way to 1500 AD, making it one of the longest continuously occupied cities in the entire Maya world. Let that sink in for a second. The city reached its peak during the Late Classic period between 600 and 900 AD, when most of the monumental architecture you can see today was constructed. At its height, the population reached around 25,000 people – an enormous city by any standard of the time.
One of the most exciting recent discoveries at Edzna is evidence of a queen – Ixb’aah Pahk’, known as the Blood Queen – who ruled during the 7th century, the city’s most ambitious expansion era. Mayan queens were quite rare, so it just adds another layer of intrigue to the whole place.
Like Uxmal, the decline and eventual abandonment of Edzna remains a mystery. Nobody knows exactly why this thriving city was left behind, and honestly, I think that mystery is a big part of what makes visiting so special. The jungle kept its secret for a long time too. The ruins were first reported to modern authorities in 1906 by local workers from a nearby hacienda, and the first organised excavations didn’t begin until 1958.
As I was walking around Edzna, I kept saying to myself “what was life like here a 1,000 years ago? What did people do? And where did they go?” It really is an unsolved mystery still!
What to see at Edzna
The Temple of the Five Stories
This is the one. The absolute showstopper. The Building of the Five Stories rises approximately 31 metres and combines a stepped pyramid base with five levels of palace-like rooms stacked on top of each other, crowned by a roof comb at the summit. The reason this place is so special is there’s genuinely nothing else like it in the Mayan world.
It’s part pyramid, part palace, and wholly unlike anything I’ve seen at other sites across the Yucatan. It’s thought that the rooms would’ve been occupied by high-standing officials, so the pyramid was functional and used like a palace. Other Mayan pyramids are much more reverential with sacrifices to the gods, so this one is completely unique.
The temple is aligned so that on May 1st and August 13th, when the sun reaches its zenith, the setting sun blazes directly into its rooms. Who cares about technology, that is just cool.
The Great Acropolis
The Great Acropolis is the name for the area and all the buildings in the square surrounding the Temple of the Five Stories. This massive raised platform supports multiple temples and palaces arranged around a central square courtyard, creating a complex that served as both the political and spiritual centre of the city.
What I loved about the Great Acropolis is all paths led here. When you’re walking through the forest when you first arrive, you can barely see the Great Acropolis in the distance as it’s hidden away, but you still feel this magnetic pull that draws you here. And when you climb the steps and see the Temple of the Five Stories for the first time, wow. It’s a sight you’ll remember forever.
The Temple of the Masks
This one is a real highlight. The Temple of the Masks takes its name from two stucco masks of the Mayan sun god Kinich Ahau. One represents him as an old man and one in his youth, believed to reflect sunrise and sunset.
They’re protected under thatched shelters to preserve them, but you can still get wonderfully close. The masks were not discovered until 1988. It makes you wonder what else might still be waiting to be found out there beneath the jungle floor.
The Ball Court
No Mayan city would be complete without one, and Edzna’s ball court is a great example. The Mesoamerican ball game was highly ritualistic and symbolic – teams generally tried to get a heavy rubber ball through small stone hoops without using their hands, and the stakes were often ceremonial.
It’s often thought that the losing team would be sacrificed to the gods, so it’s not a game you’d want to lose. Then again, I’ve also read the winning team might be sacrificed as it was considered a special honour. Sounds like a game I’d rather not play!
The Small Acropolis
The Small Acropolis is a secondary complex southwest of the main plaza. Less restored than the Great Acropolis, it offers a more atmospheric experience where jungle vegetation still presses close to ancient walls.
I always love these quieter, less polished corners of Mayan sites – they feel more raw and genuinely ancient somehow. It also contains some of the oldest remains at Edzna, so if you’re into your history, it’s well worth taking the time to explore this area properly rather than rushing past it.
How long do you need at Edzna?
This really depends on how deeply you want to immerse yourself in the history. As a general guide, I’d say two hours is the sweet spot for most visitors. This is enough time to see all the main structures, climb a few of them and soak up the atmosphere without rushing around. If you’re travelling with kids or in serious heat (and it will be seriously hot), factor in more time for rest stops and water breaks.
If you’re a real history buff or you’ve hired a guide, plan for closer to three hours; there’s a lot of detail here to get into if you want it. At the other end of the scale, if you just want to see the highlights and grab some photos, you could cover the essentials in around 60-90 minutes. However you do it, I’d strongly recommend getting there as early as possible. The heat by midday can be pretty brutal, and having the place to yourself first thing in the morning is one of those travel experiences you won’t forget in a hurry.
Do you need a tour guide?
You don’t need a guide to enjoy Edzna – the site has English signage throughout and is straightforward to navigate on your own. That said, I’d really recommend getting one if history is your thing, because this is a place with a seriously rich and layered story, and a good guide will bring it to life in a way that a sign simply can’t.
Guides are available for hire at the site entrance and are very reasonably priced – expect to pay around 500–800 MXN for a private guided tour depending on group size and how long you want them for. Split between a couple of people, it’s genuinely great value and well worth it.
Where to stay near Edzna
Most people visit Edzna as a day trip from Campeche, and that’s exactly what I’d recommend. That said, if you want to get the absolute most out of Edzna and be one of the first people through the gate in the morning, staying nearby is an option worth considering. It’s a quieter, more rural area, so it suits those who really want to escape the crowds completely.
Hotel Mundo Maya Edzná – If you really want to make the most of your time at Edzna and beat the early morning crowds, there is one hotel right on the doorstep that’s worth knowing about. Hotel Mundo Maya Edzná sits just minutes from the ruins and offers simple, comfortable rooms in a peaceful jungle setting – a world away from the bustle of Campeche city. The big advantage here is obvious – you can be one of the very first people through the gates in the morning before the heat and any day-trippers arrive, which at a site like this makes an enormous difference.
