Today will be the long awaited Spring Equinox event in Tulum
The tour guides of Tulum, through their representative Alejandro Torres Perera, said they were prepared to receive the spring equinox, which, although it is not possible to see an astronomical event in their structures, many people in their beliefs come to recharge their energies.
As every year the arrival of the spring equinox is highly anticipated by chakra lovers, who say that receiving the first rays of sun from the archaeological site is to recharge the energy they require.
For this, tour guides say that they are ready for the days before and after March 21, as people will arrive very early to get the first rows of the archaeological site.
“We do not have an astronomical event, as in Chichen Itza or Dzibilchaltun, where the sun descends or prostrates itself between the main castle to overflow its rays into the interior of the precinct,” said the interviewee.
The importance of the date, he said, is to make known the way in which Tulum received this astrological event, which corresponds to the entrance of the sun’s rays in the four points of the walled city of Tulum, that is, through its four main towers that were connected to each other through the rays.
“The event is that the front towers emit their rays towards the rear towers, where they pass in an exact manner without the edges being filled with sunlight,” said the tour guide.
On the other hand, he maintained that the tourist activity is at 70 percent, which will be maintained until the next Easter vacations, where he assures that they could reach 95 points of visitation of mostly national tourism.
“We will remain at 70 percentage points, Easter week will bring with it the arrival of national tourism, this will raise us in a certain way up to 95 percent, because let’s remember that we did not reach the maximum, but we are keeping good statistics”, said the guide.
Finally, he highlighted the work done by the Ministry of Tourism, since the presence of pirate guides, who deceive tourists about the Tulum site, giving them erroneous information about the formation of this cultural and tourist destination, has decreased.
An astronomical event in Tulum
The spring equinox is an astronomical event that travelers and tourists associate with the archaeological site of Chichen Itza in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. All this because of the extraordinary astro-archeological event of the descent of the feathered serpent from the top of one of its most impressive temples, in a phenomenon of shadows that occurs right on the equinoxes. But this natural wonder is experienced with similar interest in many other pre-Columbian sites of the national territory. In the following we will recommend a visit to the archaeological site of Tulum, to welcome spring during the equinox.
The rising of the sun in the spring equinox is manifested in Tulum just behind the building called El Castillo, while the sunset on the same day, March 21, occurs just above the exit door in the west of the archaeological site of the Mayan culture.
A great symbolic and religious importance for many cultures of ancient Mexico
The phenomenon of the equinox was of great symbolic and religious importance for many cultures of ancient Mexico since it indicated the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere and therefore in the structures, temples and pyramids of several pre-Columbian sites located in the Yucatan Peninsula were oriented according to the position of different stars of the firmament.
Tulum, that formidable group of Mayan vestiges raised on a great cliff in front of the Caribbean Sea, in the Quintana Roo coasts, reveals the way in which the pre-Columbian cultures used the technology they had available to understand the link that the stars of the firmament had with our planet. In this sense, for the Maya and the Aztecs, for example, the Sun and Venus played a decisive role in the creation of calendars for planting, harvesting and celebrations of the different gods.
In the Yucatan peninsula, the pre-Columbian Maya invested a lot of resources and time in the study of the stars and the mathematics they revealed in their particular movements in the sky. All this resulted in the construction of large buildings that reveal the position of the most important celestial bodies throughout the year. This is the case of Chichen Itza, Dzibilchaltun and Tulum.
Tulum is located about 130 kilometers south of Cancun and is an authentic cultural, archaeological and historical jewel in the Riviera Maya, on the coast of Quintana Roo.
Spring equinox 2023: visiting hours for Tulum, Teotihuacan, Chichén Itzá and other archaeological sites
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) is preparing for the spring equinox, deploying an operation from March 18 to 21, to allow tourists to visit in an orderly manner the most important archaeological sites of our country during this important event.
The Institute of Astronomy of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has informed that the vernal equinox will take place on March 20 at 21:24 hrs Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), which is equivalent to 15:24 hrs in central Mexico.
Therefore, the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico, through INAH, will carry out the Spring Equinox 2023 Operation, from March 18 to 21. The objective of this operation is to promote the enjoyment of archaeological heritage, as well as to ensure its conservation and respect for it, guaranteeing the physical integrity of the visiting public.
The program is carried out annually in coordination between INAH and authorities of the three levels of government, specialized medical personnel, public safety elements and the National Guard.
Costs and schedules of the archaeological sites
Individual access to Category I archeological zones will cost 90 pesos, Category II will cost 75 pesos and Category III will cost 70 pesos. In the case of the use of professional video recording equipment, this will generate an additional cost for the payment of fees.
People over 60 years old and under 13 years old will have free access, as well as retirees, pensioners, people with disabilities, teachers and students with valid credentials. Likewise, it is reminded that on Sunday the entrance is free for national and foreign visitors with valid accreditation.
Most of the archaeological sites in the country will comply with their usual service schedules, which can be consulted on the official INAH website. However, there are details of operation in some sites that you should know.
The Archaeological Zone of Teotihuacan, located in the State of Mexico, where the civil protection operation will be applied from March 18 to 21, days in which it is expected to have the largest influx of tourists. Visiting hours will be from 8:00 to 17:00 hrs, being 16:00 hrs when the last entrance will be allowed.
Visitors will not be allowed to climb the pyramids or archaeological monuments during the four days of the protection scheme. It was informed that the Site Museum and the Museum of Teotihuacan Murals “Beatriz de la Fuente” will be closed during Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 March.
Chichen Itza, archaeological site in Yucatan will have an operation from March 18 to 21, with operating hours from 8:00 to 17 hrs, with the last access at 16:00 hrs. It will have a limited capacity of 15,000 visitors per day, in accordance with the Management Plan and the visitor capacity of the site.
This same schedule will apply to the archaeological zones of Tulum, in Quintana Roo and Yagui, in Oaxaca.
The Cholula Archaeological Zone will operate from 9:00 to 17:00 hrs, while La Quemada, Zacatecas, will receive visitors during the operation between 9:00 and 18:00 hrs, except on March 21, when its opening hours will be from 6:00 hrs.
Another site, Monte Albán, Oaxaca, will be open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; Tula, in Hidalgo, will be open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, a similar schedule for Mexico City’s archeological sites, such as Cuicuilco, Mixcoac, Cerro de la Estrella and Templo Mayor.
Cañada de la Virgen, in Guanajuato, will be open to visitors from 10:00 to 16:00 hrs, while Las Labradas, in Sinaloa, will have a schedule from 8:00 to 18:00 hrs, this during March 19 and 20, while on subsequent days it will change to 9:00 hrs.
It is reminded that access will not be allowed with pets, bulky objects, umbrellas, alcoholic beverages or narcotics. It is also recommended to use sunscreen, mosquito repellent and sun protection with caps and hats, remembering to wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
