Detail InformationEdit
Iximche is a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeological site in the western highlands of Guatemala. Iximche was the capital of the Late Postclassic Kaqchikel Maya kingdom from 1470 until its abandonment in 1524.
The architecture of the site included a number of pyramid-temples, palaces and two Mesoamerican ballcourts. Excavators uncovered the poorly preserved remains of painted murals on some of the buildings and ample evidence of human sacrifice. The ruins of Iximche were declared a Guatemalan National Monument in the 1960s.
The site has a small museum displaying a number of pieces found there, including sculptures and ceramics.
Iximche is located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Tecpán, and 90 kilometres (56 mi) west of Guatemala City, in the northwest of the Guatemalan department of Chimaltenango.
The city was built at an altitude of 2,260 metres (7,410 ft) in an easily defensible position on a ridge surrounded by deep ravines, in order to defend the city from its hostile K’iche’ and Tz’utujil neighbours. The ridge is called Ratzamut and is a promontory of Tecpán hill, a 3,075-metre (10,089 ft) high mountain to the northwest of the ruins, which sit at the southeastern end of this promontory.
The ridge is flanked by two rivers flowing in deep ravines, Río El Molino and Río Los Chocoyos, which both join to flow southwest into the Madre Vieja River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean. Iximche is located among pine forests common to highland Guatemala.
The site was largely preserved by the Spanish due to their alliance with the Kaqchikel against the K’iche’. The site’s central core is flanked by deep ravines and is separated from the main residential area by a defensive ditch.
The majority of visitors to Iximche are indigenous Maya, at the weekend the site attracts about 250 visitors per day. Comparatively few tourists visit the ruins and the majority that do are Guatemalan nationals. Modern aj q’ijab’ (Maya priests often referred to as “daykeepers” in English) arrive as pilgrims at Iximche from throughout the Guatemalan Highlands.
Tourist facilities at the site include visitor parking, a small museum, a picnic area and a football field. The museum is open on a daily basis and displays a number of artefacts recovered from the ruins.
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