’"*the big hill*":http://www.redbubble.com/people/dinghysailor1/...

View up the highest pyramid (138 feet) in Yucatan, Mexico called Nohoch Mul (‘large hill’). Built by the Mayan people over a thousand years ago (600-900AD) on a vast forested site at Coba, in its heyday the city covered over 80 sq km, housing over 50,000 people. Its crumbling deserted ruins lay overgrown in the forest for over a millenium and while knowledge of this expansive site was never completely lost, it only came to the attention of scholars in the 1920s… It was the building of the new tourist town of Cancun that led to some restoration and its opening as one of the most natural sites in the peninsula. It is one of the few pyramids you can still climb. (Its no longer permitted on the pyramid of Kulkulkan at Chichen Itza , voted online as one of the seven new wonders of the world). There were a series of ancient raised roadways called sacbe(ob) connecting Coba with other ceremonial sites in the peninsula

Climbing it on your own first thing in the morning was an amazing feeling – rewarded by incredible (and giddying!) views across the jungle with another pyramid jutting up through the forest

Coming down is much much harder and the rope can be a saviour and many white knuckles have gripped it for security during the steep descent (my own included!!).

There were so many remains of huge interest including the old ball court where they played pelota for the highest stakes and getting on a bike helped us move between ruins in the wild forest (only a tiny proportion excavated) with amazing bird and wild life. It was leaving our first visit at dusk the night before that we saw the fascinating coatimundi rootling around on one of the many unexcavated heaps of rocks from one fallen building, now reclaimed by the forest…

A must – see if ever you are in mexico …. oooh and be careful of the crocs in the lake too!….
:))))

Nikon D60; Nikkor 18-200 lens;UV filter;f/5.6;1/125 sec;ISO-100;fl 18mm