Archaeology sites and museums in Yucatan opening soon
INAH announced a staggered reopening of Yucatan’s archaeological zones and related museums.
The archaeological sites of Uxmal, Xcambó, Mayapán, Izamal and Ek Balam will open Monday “in a gradual and orderly manner,” INAH said.
On Thursday, Sept. 17, the Palacio Canton Museum in Merida will reopen, and on Tuesday, Sept. 22, Chichen Itza and Dzibilchaltún and the latter’s adjacent Museum of the Maya People will follow suit.
All the reopenings will be completed under strict sanitation measures following guidelines from the Ministry of Health.
In both the Chichen Itza and Uxmal, the nightly light-and-sound show is still suspended.
The sites will allow visitors at 30% capacity, meaning that at Chichen Itza, visitors will be capped at 3,000 per day. At smaller Dzibilchaltún, the cenote, the Templo Parado and the Aldea Maya will still be closed.
Archaeological zones will open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Sunday. The last visitors will be allowed access at 4.
For Chichen Itza, tour operators are asked to schedule groups of no more than 10 people between 11 a..m. and 2 p.m.
The Regional Museum of Anthropology, Palacio Canton, will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, with access ending at 4:30. While the Museum of the Mayan People will be open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday.
To enter archaeological zones and museums, the public must wear face masks upon arrival. Visitors must maintain, at all times, a healthy distance, establishing a separation between people of at least 1.5 meters, with the exception of children, who must be accompanied by an adult.
Visitors are encouraged to avoid physical contact with railings, doors, signage or surfaces.
Box offices will be the only place to purchase tickets and the standard fees will still apply.
Related: INAH opens sites across Mexico, but Chichen Itza wasn’t among them at first