The Palace
El Palacio
A royal palace complex of courtyards, galleries and a four-storey lookout tower, with well-preserved stucco reliefs and underground passages.
El Palacio sits on the large platform at the centre of the site. It is a complex of courtyards, arcades and underground passages, expanded by successive kings. Its four-storey square tower is extremely rare in Maya architecture and is thought to have been used for astronomical observation or as a lookout. The stairs of the East Court are carved with reliefs of captives, and rooms still retain traces of stucco paint and the Oval Tablet, which depicts Pakal's coronation. Visitors can enter the galleries and some of the underground passages, but the stone steps are slippery after rain. The palace stands across a plaza from the Temple of the Inscriptions, and it is a good place to photograph the pyramid from the palace terrace.
Opening hours
Follows site hours, about 08:00–17:00
Nearby sights
- Palenque Archaeological Site
- Temple of the Inscriptions
- Temple XIII (Tomb of the Red Queen)
- Cross Group
- Palenque National Park Jungle Trails & Murciélagos Falls
- Palenque Site Museum Alberto Ruz Lhuillier
- El Panchán
- Aluxes Ecopark