{"id":51439,"date":"2014-03-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-03-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/royalresorts.com\/blog\/equinox-at-chichen-itza-march-20-21\/"},"modified":"2021-11-16T05:42:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-16T05:42:08","slug":"equinox-at-chichen-itza-march-20-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/equinox-at-chichen-itza-march-20-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Equinox at Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1, March 20-21"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ancient Mayan capital of Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1 casts its spell whenever you visit it but on the day of the spring Equinox, the Pyramid of Kukulc\u00e1n in the Great Plaza becomes a stairway to heaven and an ancient god returns to earth.
\n 
\nAlso known as El Castillo, the pyramid is a feat of ancient engineering and a solar clock, aligned to catch the rays of the setting sun on the days of the spring and fall equinoxes in March and September, respectively. Huge crowds gather for this mystic experience and to watch as triangles of light and shadow form along the side of the north staircase and the figure of a snake appears, merging with the head of a stone snake at the foot of the building. The illusion of a gigantic serpent slithering down from the heavens and across the ground towards the Sacred Cenote is created.
\n 
\nThe snake symbolizes Kukulc\u00e1n (also known as Quetzalcoatl in central Mexico), the feathered serpent god, who returns to earth to give hope to his followers and heralds the spring planting and fall harvest seasons for the Maya.
\n 
\nDay trips to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1 are available through Thomas More Travel. This year, the Spring Equinox falls on March 20 but it is traditionally observed on March 21 at Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1 as it coincides with an official national holiday.\u00a0 The light and shadow snake is visible the day before and after the equinox, cloud cover permitting.
\n 
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The ancient Mayan capital of Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1 casts its spell whenever you visit it but on the day of the spring Equinox, the Pyramid of Kukulc\u00e1n in the Great Plaza becomes a stairway to heaven and an ancient god returns to earth.   Also known as El Castillo, the pyramid is a feat of ancient […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nEquinox at Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1, March 20-21 - Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.royalresorts.com\/blog\/news\/equinox-at-chichen-itza-march-20-21\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Equinox at Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1, March 20-21 - 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