Pyramid of Kukulcan

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The Pyramid of Kukulcan (also know as El Castillo, a name given by the Spanish
Conquistadors) is the central pyramid of Chich’en Itza, it was built over a pre-existing
temple between 800 and 900 AD. It is the biggest pyramid in Chich’en Itza; at its base
53.3 meters wide on all four sides. It towers above the other monuments at 24 meters tall
with a 6 meter temple on top of the highest platform.

Kukulcán's pyramid is essentially a nine-step structure culminating in a flat platform
that supports a two-story temple. The height to the top platform is 24 m,
the temple adding another 6 m.



The pyramid has special astronomical significance and layout.  Each face of the pyramid has
 a stairway with ninety-one steps, which together with the shared step of the platform at
the top, add up to 365, the number of days in a year. These stairways also divide the nine
terraces of each side of the pyramid into eighteen segments, representing the eighteen
months of the Mayan calendar. 




The staircases rise at an angle of 45 degrees to the horizontal, while the average
inclination of the stepped pyramid itself is 53.3 degrees. The faces of the individual
steps are sloped at a greater angle, approximately 73 degrees.