Chichén-Itzá--At the foot of of El Castillo pyramid is a giant serpent head. Imagine how architects and astronomers who planned the location so precisely that shadow and sunlight form a serpent's body slithering from the peak to the earth at each equinox (Mar 21 and Sept 21). Bus or plane from Cancun or Cozumel.

Teotihuacán--You can feel the majesty of the past in a stroll down the pyramid-lined Avenue of the Dead, from the Pyramid of the Sun to the Pyramid of the Moon. When it was created the walls were stuccoed and painted in brilliant colors. Close to Mexico City.

Monte Albán--A grand ceremonial city with panoramic vistas, built on a mountaintop overlooking the valley of Oaxaca, Monte Alban.

Palenque--Rulers of this city built tombs for themselves deep within their pyramids. In 683 A.D. King Pacal was buried in a secret pyramidal tomb--unspoiled until its discovery in 1952.

Uxmal--No matter how many times you see Uxmal, the splendor of its stone carvings is breathtaking. A stone rattlesnake decorates across the facade of the Nunnery complex, and 103 masks of Chaac--the rain god--decorate the Governor's Palace.