Palenque, Mexico

Palenque (Spanish pronunciation: [pa'leŋke];Yucatec Maya: Bàakʼ /ɓàːkʼ/), also anciently known asLakamha (literally: "Big Water"), was a Maya citystate in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. AD 799. After its decline, it was absorbed into the jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees, but has since been excavated and restored and is now a famous archaeological site attracting thousands of visitors. 

The earliest Maya began to settle the dense rain forests of southwestern Mexico and Guatemala some 3,000 years ago. For nearly 1,400 years, settlements arose throughout the region, with some, like Tikal and Palenque (shown here), expanding into large, vibrant city-states.

Palenque is a medium-sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal, Chichen Itza, or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced. By 2005, the discovered area covered up to 2.5 km² (1 sq mi), but it is estimated that less than 10% of the total area of the city is explored, leaving more than a thousand structures still covered by jungle.

Temple of the Cross

Temple of the Inscriptions

Temple of the Count

The Palace and aqueduct

The Palace as seen from the courtyard.

The two inner columns from the Temple of the Inscriptions