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Bonampak Ruin site, is an abandoned stone city built by the Mayans between the 5th and 10th
centuries AD near the Usumacinta River and the
border with Guatemala in Mexico's southern most State
of
Chiapas.
Bonampak was once an important Mayan political center allied with nearby Yaxchilan. The Mayan
inhabitants
abandoned the city around 1000 AD.

From the city of Palenque, collectivos and tour buses make the two and a half hour trip to Bonampak
and Yaxchilan.   Tours also leave Palenque and follow a different road for the cascades of Agua Azule and
for San Cristobal de las Casas.

To visit
Bonampak Ruin Site: For Independent Travelers: Catch the White collective taxis (no
frills vans) for
70-100 pesos that make runs to the Frontera about every hour starting at 5 am. They pick up
and drop off passengers and cargo all along the way.

Stop at the crossroads for Bonampak where another cab stand will have trips for the additional 14 miles on
a dirt road to the site.  Could be
$70 pesos  round trip.   Look for the man with the red VW.
To continue beyond Bonampak and enter the
Frontera, ( Park) have 25 Pesos additional.  

Have lots of
small change; no one will have change to break anything over a twenty peso bill. Inquire first
before taking a taxi or collectivo; prices vary greatly. Have lots of water.
This road runs parallel to the Usumacinta River, a frontier along the Guatemalan border that until 1990 did
not have a paved road. The local people have been in an uneasy truce with the government for several
years after a revolution  centered in San Cristobal de las Casas that simmered down about eight years go.
These isolated people are not used to strangers and can seem unfriendly. If you are not comfortable
travelling independently, know some Spanish, know the money, can tolerate high temperatures and high
humidity,  go as part of a group tour out of Palenque.

Two outfits run the
collectivos to the Frontera: Transportes Benemiento and Chamoan.  Their terminal
is located near the
Cabeza Maya sculpture, just down the hill and to the right side of the road you can find
their terminal.

Most of the collectivos round the Cabeza Maya, a handy place to catch a ride to the ruins. They also stop at
the gas station just after the monument Madre Chol on the  road to Agua Azule.
Tour agencies located in the town of Palenque also run trips that are guided.

Immigration authorities are active on the road, best to have a
passport and copy of your Mexican visa.  

Campgrounds, hotels, and posadas are plentiful in Palenque along the road to Palenque ruins. The village
of 85,000 has plentiful bus service with an ADO terminal on the main street and several others nearby.
Campgrounds, inns, posadas, and plush hotels are available on the entrance road to the archaeological
site.
Bonampak  Murals, Mayan Ruin Site, Chiapas,  Mexico
Bonampak Murals: some researchers
believe that the murals commemorate a
battle and the subjugation of a neighboring
city.
Bonampak, an ancient Mayan city, noted
for its
murals was at its height from
600AD to 1000 AD.
Bonampak is noted for its mural wall paintings in
vivid colors depicting events before and after a
battle.  The ancient Maya City is also noted for
having the largest Stele in Mexico, Bonampak
can be reached in about three hours via
collective taxi or tour van out of the town of
Palenque.
At one time the buildings were
coated in stucco and painted as the
remnants of red paint show
Each small building at the top of the Acropolis houses
a sandstone column
From Bonampak's main
plaza
a stairway leads  to the
acropolis where three
chambers shelter the murals.
Bonampak's
murals
are in rooms
that have stucco
carving on the
underside of the
lintels at the
entrance. These
carvings are well
preserved because
of their sheltered
place. They depict
the slaughter of
prisoners.
Bonampak was settled around 200 AD and slowly
developed until reaching its peak in 600 AD and
then flourishing in many building stages until 900 to
1000 AD.
Bonampak was allied with nearby Yaxchilan
through a marriage of its king to the sister of the
king of Yaxchilan somewhere between 760 and
790 AD.

The Bonampak murals contain a date of 792, the
latest date found at the site.
The murals were started sometime in the mid 700s
and according to some researchers
commemorate a battle and subsequent victory and
subjugation of an unidentified neighboring town.
Chaan Muan  II the leader depicted as victorious in
the Bonampak murals, ruled from 772 AD to 792
AD during what appears to be Bonampak's zenith
and its most prolific building stage.   
The Bonampak murals show at least 270 people dressed in different ritual
costumes and is rendered in colors made from mineral and vegetable dyes that
were applied over limestone stucco. The scene demonstrates an alliance with
nearby
Yaxchilan through a marriage of Chaan Muan II to the sister of the king of
Yaxchilan and the presentation of the son of Chaan Muan II as possible heir.
The Bonampak murals also depict the
battle and the subsequent torture of
prisoners
by the removal of their fingernails and they show ritual bloodletting by
women piercing their tongues.
The murals were started sometime in the mid 700s  and record the subjugation of
an unidentified  neighboring town by Chaan Muan  II who ruled from 772 AD to 792
AD during what appears to be Bonampak's zenith, its most prolific building stage
and perhaps its last..   
View of the Plaza from the Acropolis
The Acropolis is built on a
natural hill that slopes up from
the main plaza. A colony of
weaver birds fills a tree in the
plaza
Bonampak is noted for its murals
and for the many stele that
commemorate its rulers. One
monument is the largest stone of its kind
found in Mexico.

Most notable perhaps is Stele 2 which
shows the Emperor of Bonampak,
Chaan Muan II who ruled from 772 to
792 AD.
He is accompanied by his wife, the sister
of the ruler of nearby Yaxchilan, and by
his mother. They are depicted in a blood
letting ritual, his mother standing in front
of him holds a devil fish spine to perform
the piercing. His wife standing behind
holds the vessel that will receive the
blood for later ritual burning.
The Bonampak Murals occupy
1,600 square feet of wall and
ceiling space in three rooms that
face the large plaza of
Bonampak's main site. According
to some researchers, the murals
record the preparation for a
battle, the battle and the
subsequent
sacrificing of
prisoners
and the celebration
after the battle.
The leader Chaan Muan II is
depicted with his wife, mother,
and son. The
date 792 AD is
found on the mural, the latest date
so far found at Bonampak, which
reached its peak between 600
AD and 900 AD.
Bonampak was at its height from 600AD to 1000 AD.
has the largest Stele in Mexico, Bonampak can be reached in about
three hours via collective taxi or tour van out of the town of
Palenque.
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The Bonampak  Murals at the Mayan Ruin Site
of Bonampak in Chiapas,  Mexico give the site
uniqueness along with its large stella, the
largest in Mexico