Chichén Itzá - Caracol

A short distance away lies one of the most interesting of all the buildings at Chichén Itzá, the Caracol ("Snail"), thought to have been an observatory. Inside the circular building, which stands on a two-tier platform, a passageway winds upwards in a gently ascending spiral. Narrow slits in the walls are so positioned as to allow the sun's rays to penetrate the centre of the building for just a few seconds twice a year, a simple but reliable method used by Mayan priests to accurately determine the time. The observatory embodies stylistic elements clearly deriving from the central highlands in addition to its Mayan Classic features.