Uxmal: Thrice-Built Home of the Dwarf King

An expansive city with soaring buildings that have somehow retained much of their detail, Uxmal is among the most important Maya archaeological sites. It’s about an hour south of Mérida in the Puuc Valley, and we showed up early in the morning after spending the night in nearby Santa Elena.

Uxmal means “Built Three Times”, and was at its most powerful between 875 and 900 AD. When the Spanish arrived, the Maya still living among the ruins shared the story of their city’s creation. Of course, ju...