Estructura II


Climbing the enormous Estructura II, at the south side of the Gran Plaza, is a must. Each of this pyramid’s sides is 140m long, giving it a footprint of just under 2 hectares – making it by some estimates the largest and tallest known Maya structure. After a good climb you’ll come to what appears to be the top of the building, but go around to the left to reach the real apex.

From here, 45m above the forest floor, you'll have magnificent views of Estructura I to the southeast and Estructura VII to the north – as well as jungle canopy as far as you can see. Facing southwest, you’ll be looking toward the Maya city El Mirador, in neighboring Guatemala.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Gran Plaza

0.07 MILES

The Gran Plaza, with its ancient buildings and many stelae, is a good place to begin your Calakmul explorations. Climbing the enormous Estructura II, at…

2. Estructura III

0.09 MILES

The palatial Estructura III consists of a dozen rooms atop a raised platform. Archaeologists found a tomb inside the 5th-century structure that contained…

3. Estructura I

0.19 MILES

Estructura I is Calakmul’s second great pyramid (surpassed by Estructura II). American botanist Cyrus Lundell named the site Calakmul, Maya for ‘two…

4. Calakmul

0.21 MILES

Quite unlike any other Maya city you'll visit in Yucatán, Calakmul was ‘discovered’ in 1931 by American botanist Cyrus Lundell, and is located deep in the…

5. Gran Acrópolis

0.22 MILES

The Gran Acrópolis is a labyrinthine residential zone with a ceremonial sector containing a ball court. (From the northern perimeter of this zone, you can…

6. Reserva de la Biosfera Calakmul

0.82 MILES

Lying at the heart of the vast, untrammeled Reserva de la Biosfera Calakmul (which covers close to 15% of the state’s total territory), the magnificent…

7. Museo de Naturaleza y Arqueología

18.6 MILES

Calakmul's modern Museo de Naturaleza y Arqueología has geological, archaeological and natural-history exhibits that are well displayed and provide a…

8. El Mirador

26.23 MILES

Buried within the furthest reaches of the Petén jungle, just 7km south of the Mexican border, the Late Preclassic metropolis at El Mirador contains one of…