Geography

• Mayan ruins can be found throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, specifically in the countries of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. Honduras has its share of Mayan archaeological sites as well.
  
  

Size

• While thousands of Mayan ruins can be found throughout the Yucatan and surrounding regions, only a few hundred remain open to the public. Some sites, such as Chichen Itza, cover so much ground--six square miles--that it takes a full day to explore it.
  
  

Time Frame

• The Mayan ruins display a wide range in age, with many of the sites dating back as far as the fourth century B.C.
  
  

Significance

• Many of the buildings that comprise the ruins, including various pyramids and temples, represent different aspects of the Mayan civilization, specifically religious beliefs and political dominance.
  
  

Warning

• A large percentage of the Mayan ruins were covered over the course of thousands of years with dense jungle overgrowth. The conditions at these sites can be challenging for some tourists--expect sweltering heat, pesky insects or long hikes to reach the ruins.