The "Ruta Puuc" is an itinerary around the area of Mayan cities named after nearby hills (notable since most of the Yucatan is completely flat). Common features of Puuc style are buildings with a plain lower section and ornate upper section, decorated cornices, rows of half and full columns, Chac masks and roof combs. Sites include Uxmal, Kabah, Labna and Sayil. Sayil is one of the most impressive sites on the Ruta Puuc, or Puuc route. Here the dominant structure is the Gran Palacio, or Great Palace, sometimes known as the Chultun Palace. Kabah, it’s worth the journey just to see the stunning façade of the Codz-Pop (meaning "rolled-up mat") - a whole wall of Chac masks, around 250 in total, with big round eyes and protruding, curled noses.

All pictures in this Mexico photo gallery are copyrighted by Victor Ovies unless stated otherwise. This includes (but is not limited to) the following photo galleries: Mexico DF, Chiapas, Yucatan, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Puebla, Taxco and the pre-Columbian sites of Chichen Itza, Dzibichaltun, Edzna, El Tajin, Monte Alban and Mitla (Oaxaca), Palenque (Chiapas) and La Venta (Tabasco), Ruta Puuc, Tulum and Uxmal in addition to the Maya Route highlights  You may download and store them for personal use only. Unauthorized reproduction or commercial use of this material is forbidden and will be prosecuted.