---
title: "How many steps up El Castillo, Chichén Itzá? 365"
description: "365 steps up El Castillo, Chichén Itzá in Yucatán, Mexico. Not climbable by the public. What that count reaches, the height climbed, and how it compares."
url: https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/chichen-itza/
site: "At One Place"
---

# How many steps to the top of El Castillo, Chichén Itzá?

**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 · not climbable by the public

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.*

- Torre del Mangia: 400 steps
- Statue of Liberty (crown): 377 steps
- Belfry of Bruges: 366 steps
- El Castillo, Chichén Itzá: 365 steps
- United States Capitol dome: 365 steps
- Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey: 350 steps
- Wat Saket (the Golden Mount): 344 steps

*El Castillo, Chichén Itzá ranks 33 of 56 here by step count.*

| 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](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/temple/)
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- [How many steps up Wat Saket (the Golden Mount)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/wat-saket/)
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- [How many steps up Kotohira-gū (Konpira-san)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/kotohira-gu/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]