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Maya Ruins > Xpuhil

Xpuhil is part of the group of ruins that comprise the Rio Bec area. The interesting thing about the Rio Bec area is that the area is very old -- occupied around 600 BC. The peak, however, was around 500 AD. The Rio Bec is known for the the extravagant carvings on the buildings, false staircase, tall towers and "monster" faces and includes Chicanna, Becan, Balamku, Rio Bec, Hormiguero and Xpuhil.

Open 8-5; admission 33 pesos. Allow at least 45 minutes to visit


Stone monster face at Xpuhil
Nearby the ruins is the town of Xpuhil. There is not much to do in town, but there are a couple of decent restaurants and you can get gasoline there. Xpuhil is about 3 hours drive from Mayan Beach Garden, so it makes it rather difficult to see on a day trip. We recommend making an overnight trip and stay at Chicanna Eco-village or Rio Bec Dreams. While there you can see Chicanna, Xpuhil, Balamku and Becan. We highly recommend this. These ruins are spectacular yet few people take the time to visit them.
Xpuhil is a small site, just west of the main village. Even though it is small it has the greatest group of three towers. They have facades of 70 degrees. There are "secret" stairways that allowed priests to go to the top of the temples and magically appear to the people..
The three towers late silhouetted by the late afternoon sun.

On the towers, there are remains of roof combs and monster face carvings on the false stairway in the front.

The ruins of Xpuhil were named after a nearby watering hole named Xpuhil. The word in Mayan is related to an abundant herb known as "cola de gato" (cat's tail).