Calakmul Ruins

The most powerful Maya city in the Classic period, Calakmul in Campeche at its peak in 700 CE controlled a political sphere extending across half the Maya world and rivaled Tikal in Guatemala as the supreme power of Mesoamerica. The site's remote jungle location means visitor numbers remain low and the sound of howler monkeys punctuates the climb of its 55-metre Structure II — the largest Maya pyramid by base footprint in the Americas.