How many steps to the top of El Castillo, Chichén Itzá?
Each of the four staircases has 91 steps, and 91 × 4 plus the top platform gives 365 — a solar year built into the architecture, alongside 52 panels for the Maya calendar round and 18 terraces for the 18 months of the Haab. Climbing was banned in 2006 after a visitor fell to her death, and the stairs have been closed ever since; the pyramid can only be walked around. On the equinoxes the afternoon sun throws a serrated shadow down the northern balustrade that reads as a serpent descending. There is a second, older pyramid inside this one.
The numbers
- Steps
- 365
- Reaches
- the temple at the top of the pyramid — climbing has been prohibited since 2006
- Public access
- Not climbable by the public
- Where
- Yucatán, Mexico
- Height climbed
- 24 m — 79 ft
- Average rise per step
- 66 mm
This count describes a stairwell the public cannot use. Published step figures for famous structures very often refer to service or emergency stairs — worth knowing before planning a visit around one.
Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.
How it compares
Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.
| Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torre del Mangia | 400 | the bell chamber at 87 m, above the Palazzo Pubblico | Open to climb |
| Statue of Liberty (crown) | 377 | the crown, at 81 m — 162 steps above the top of the pedestal | Restricted — events or permit only |
| Belfry of Bruges | 366 | the top of the medieval bell tower, at 83 m | Open to climb |
| El Castillo, Chichén Itzá | 365 | the temple at the top of the pyramid — climbing has been prohibited since 2006 | Not climbable by the public |
| United States Capitol dome | 365 | the top of the dome — staff-escorted tours only | Not climbable by the public |
| Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey | 350 | the abbey church and the west terrace, from the village entrance | Open to climb |
| Wat Saket (the Golden Mount) | 344 | the golden chedi at the top of the artificial hill, at 58 m | Open to climb |
Common questions
- How many steps to the top of El Castillo, Chichén Itzá?
- 365, reaching the temple at the top of the pyramid — climbing has been prohibited since 2006.
- Can the public climb El Castillo, Chichén Itzá?
- Not climbable by the public.
- How high is that climb?
- 24 m, about 79 ft, which averages 66 mm per step.
Related pages
- Temples All 7 here
- How many steps up Batu Caves? 272 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tham Suea)? 1,237 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Wat Phra That Doi Suthep? 306 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Wat Saket (the Golden Mount)? 344 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Mount Haguro stone stairway? 2,446 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Kotohira-gū (Konpira-san)? 1,368 steps · open to climb
Sources
- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)