Temple-Fortress "El Castillo"

El Castillo is one of the most memorable sights of the archaeological complex of the ancient Mayan city of Tulum. “El Castillo” is simultaneously a temple, fortress and lighthouse.

In the temple-fortress, unfortunately, now there are no excursions due to the influx of tourists, but you can admire them from a distance - "El Castillo" attracts the eye immediately after entering the fortified part of the complex, rising 25 meters above the ground. The temple-fortress was built in several stages characteristic of the Maya cycles in 52 years, the newest part of El Castillo, a niche with columns, is on top. As a temple, this place was dedicated to the god Kukulcan, so the Indian name "El Castillo" - "Temple of Kukulcan".

Not far from El Castillo there is a descent to one of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico with white sand and amazing purity bright = turquoise water. From there, too, the temple-fortress is clearly visible, and for good reason - for Indian navigators, El Castillo served as a lighthouse, since there is a continuous coral reef along the coast, a gap in which (and, therefore, the only place suitable for the berth of ships) is only opposite the fortress temple. The Spanish colonizers who did not know this feature lost many ships in the waters of Tulum, and the aborigines safely moored to their native shores, focusing on the sunlight that broke through the windows of the first floor of El Castillo, and at night on the lights lit on the upper floor of the fortress.