The Governor’s Palace in Uxmal is one of the most beautiful examples of Mayan sculpture and architecture, and one of the must-see buildings in the city together with the Pyramid of the Magician and the Nunnery Quadrangle.
It’s placed on top of a hill, characteristic of the Puuc region on a large platform that makes up three terraces. It was divided into 3 parts separated by very high transverse vaults.
The decoration of the facade of the building has glyphs of Venus, placed on the cheeks of the masks of Chac, god of rain and fertility, there are also eight two-headed snakes above the main entrance. Along the facade, there are thatched huts, garlands, columns, thrones, feather headdresses, numerals with bars and dots appearing in two Chac masks in the north corners of the palace.
In the center stands the throne of a sovereign sitting majestically, surrounded by entwined snakes and masks of the god Chac.
The Platform of the Jaguars
It’s thought that the Platform of the Jaguars could have been a ceremonial altar located on the terrace in front of the Governor’s Palace. On this platform, there’s a sculpture that represents two jaguars united by the thorax oriented from north to south and could be accessed by four stairs on each side. An interesting fact is that there’s a Sacbé that goes to Kabáh starting from the base of this platform.
Physical description of the Governor’s Palace in Uxmal
It measures almost 100m long, 12m wide, 9m high, and consists of three independent bodies, the central one is a rectangular building that has fourteen accessible chambers, 11 of them, from the outside.
Governor’s Palace has separate buildings on both sides that are linked to the central building through the tall transverse vaults. The walls are smooth, and without ornamentation from the floor level to the height of the accesses; above them, there is a large ornamented fretwork.
Location of the Governor’s Palace in Uxmal
Governor’s Palace in Uxmal is up on a small hill next to the Great Pyramid. This is the recommended place to see on your tour through Uxmal after you’ve seen the Ball Court.
