Tourist Climbs Pyramid at Chichén Itzá, Locals Shout ‘Sacrifice’

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A German tourist decided to climb one side of the Mayan pyramid, El Castillo, at the Chichén Itzá archaeological site in Mexico. The pyramid played a critical role in ancient Mayan religion, and locals still consider it a sacred site. It’s also one of the seven wonders of the world. Needless to say, locals did not appreciate that the tourist broke the rules.

Mexico News Weekly reports that many thousands of people had gathered at Chichén Itzá for spring equinox when suddenly, a tourist went over the rope barrier, ran past guards, and scaled the pyramid’s steps all the way up to the top. He hid at the top until security escorted him down and arrested him. A second tourist had reportedly also breached the barrier at some point that day.

“One of the offenders, a 38-year-old German, was physically confronted by the crowd and received a blow to the forehead that drew blood,” reported Mexico News Weekly. “Apparently, some people were even shouting that he be ‘sacrificed’—an allusion to the human and animal sacrifices the Maya once carried out at the highest point of the pyramid.”

ABC News shared one video of the incident on social media, similarly noting that visitors booed the tourist and harassed him after security guards brought him back down. Watch ABC News’s video of the tourist at Chichén Itzá below, followed by another video with a second view. Interestingly, in the second video, you can hear some visitors cheering the rogue tourist as he climbed El Castillo’s many steps.

Here’s another view from someone in the crowd:

🚨 TURISTA SUBE AL CASTILLO DE CHICHÉN ITZÁ DURANTE EL EQUINOCCIO

Un turista ignoró las normas y escaló la pirámide principal de Chichén Itzá en pleno espectáculo de luz y sombra del equinoccio.

Los visitantes, que esperaban el descenso de Kukulkán, quedaron atónitos cuando el… pic.twitter.com/MLzOIVnM1j

— Diario de Yucatán (@DiariodeYucatan) March 21, 2025