The Kulkulkan pyramid is also known as El Castillo, the Castle. Kulkulkan, the feathered serpent god, is represented at the pyramid with large snake heads at the bottom of the north pyramid staircase and at the top of the pyramid on the north and south facing entrances. The pyramid is about 78 feet tall. It is about 180 feet on each side. The pyramid image above is rendered facing west.

The pyramid is believed to have been covered in a layer of red stucco. There are nine pyramid levels representing the nine layers of the underworld in the Maya cosmology. ChanChan Tupac has suggested that the Haab calendar symbols might have been in the cut out areas on each pyramid level. In this recontruction, they have only been placed on the lower level of the western side.

El Castillo uses the sunlight from the spring and fall equinox to create a magical effect: over the course of the Equinox day, sunlight silhouetting the pyramid corners, forms a curvy snake body along the western edge of the staircase on the north side of the pyramid. In this reconstruction, the softare 'sun' was placed at an altitude of 27 degrees and an azimuth of 54 degrees. The numbers are amusing as they both ad up to 9. The picture below demonstrates the curvy snake body that is formed, reaching the head of the snake at the bottom of the staircase. This view is rendered facing east and is representative of what occurs at the Fall Equinox.

The top of the pyramid has a structure with entrances to the north and south. Two columns with snake heads and rattles guard each opening. This structure is reached by climbing 91 steps up the staircase. The image below represents walking up the north stair case. There are four staircases totalling 364 steps.

Hidden with El Castillo is a full sized pyramid of small scale, a replica of the large one covering it, but with only a single staircase in the north instead of four covering each direction. The last image shows this in a 'cut-away'. This was discovered in 1936.

Information sources: ChanChan Tupac
Miller, Mary Ellen, Maya Art and Architecture, Thames and Hudson, 1999
Construction notes: Images made with Carrara Studio & Bryce5

Happy Equinox and thanks, as always, to Chan and Dinn!!