The Group of the Thousand Columns in Chichen Itza is actually a temple, a very beautiful and impressive structure connected to the Temple of the Warriors that gets its name because it looks like it has lots columns, but actually, there are only about 200 columns of them.

This is what remains of what probably supported a flat roof, according to Toltec custom. Also, in the Group of the Thousand Columns, as in El Castillo and other constructions of Chichen Itza, the typically Mayan pyramidal structure adds new elements, formed by colonnades of surprising lightness and iconographic elements related to the military orders and the cult of the Feathered Serpent.

Some people think that the Group of the Thousand Columns symbolize that inside the human being along with the thousands of psychological defects that we carry, we also carry different aspects from warriors that help us fight the evil we carry inside.

Physical description of The Group of the Thousand Columns

The Group of the Thousand Columns is a vast plaza that has the shape of an irregular quadrilateral, about 150 m long, with some structures on the east side and in the south, including the so-called Mercado, which closes the plaza on those sides. On the west side there is a colonnade formed by four rows of columns, made of stone drums, on which the beams that supported the vaults rested, and which ran northward through the portico of the Temple of the Warriors; while on the north side ran another porch with five rows of columns, seated on a platform 2.20 m high.

Location of the Group of the Thousand Columns in Chichen Itza

The Group of the Thousand Columns in Chichen Itza is formed from different platforms located on the left side of the Temple of the Warriors and behind it.

Chichen Itza North Pillars

The North Pillars are part of the main set of columns that are on the side of the Temple of the Warriors. They are decorated in their four faces with reliefs of warriors, priests, and sometimes prisoners, as well as squares bearing the effigy of the man-bird-serpent or Kukulkan.

It is composed of numerous pillars that once supported the roof of spacious galleries, roofed with perishable materials. It’s a large complex that is located around a wide square and is formed by a series of pillars aligned in parallel. Each section of the colonnade was built in different stages. The North Colonnade features bas-reliefs of warriors on its pillars.

Location of the Chichen Itza North Pillars

The Group of the Chichen Itza North Pillars is a long set of pillars located behind the Temple of the Warriors and ends with the Temple of the Sculpted Columns.

The Temple of Sculpted Columns in Chichen Itza

The temple of sculpted columns is a small building that consists of a gallery with an interior corridor that leads to an altar with a Chac Mool. It also has numerous columns of rich reliefs with representations of some of the most important personalities of the time. A part of the top panel is covered with a pattern of X and O and is shown in front of the structure.

Location of the Temple of Sculpted Columns in Chichen Itza

The Temple of Sculpted Columns in Chichen Itza is located at the end of the North Pillars.