Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque


World Heritage Identification Number: 411

World Heritage since: 1987

Category: Cultural Heritage

Transboundary Heritage: No

Endangered Heritage: No

Country: 🇲🇽 Mexico

Continent: Americas

UNESCO World Region: Latin America and the Caribbean

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Exploring the Ancient Wonders of the Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque

The Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque, located in the heart of the dense tropical rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, offers a captivating glimpse into the rich cultural heritage of the ancient Maya civilization. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, Palenque stands as a testament to the artistic, architectural, and intellectual prowess of this remarkable civilization.

More to come…

UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

A prime example of a Mayan sanctuary of the classical period, Palenque was at its height between AD 500 and 700, when its influence extended throughout the basin of the Usumacinta River. The elegance and craftsmanship of the buildings, as well as the lightness of the sculpted reliefs with their Mayan mythological themes, attest to the creative genius of this civilization.

Encyclopedia Record: Palenque

Palenque, also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamha, was a Maya city-state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD. After its decline, it was overgrown by the jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees, but has since been excavated and restored. It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 130 km (81 mi) south of Ciudad del Carmen, 150 meters (490 ft) above sea level. It is adjacent to the modern town of Palenque, Chiapas. It averages a humid 26 °C (79 °F) with roughly 2,160 millimeters (85 in) of rain a year.

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Additional Site Details

Area: 1,772 hectares

UNESCO Criteria: (i) — Masterpiece of human creative genius
(ii) — Significant interchange of human values
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape

Coordinates: 17.48333 , -92.05

Image

Image of Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque

© Ljuba brank at Slovenian Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)

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Nearby World Heritage Sites

Ancient Maya City and Protected Tropical Forests of Calakmul, Campeche
253 km — Mexico
Tikal National Park
260 km — Guatemala
Historic Fortified Town of Campeche
307 km — Mexico
National Archaeological Park Tak’alik Ab’aj
318 km — Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala
355 km — Guatemala

Country Information: Mexico

Flag of Mexico

Official Name: United Mexican States

Capital: Mexico City

Continent: Americas

Population (2024): 130,861,007

Population (2023): 129,739,759

Population (2022): 128,613,117

Land Area: 1,943,950 sq km

Currency: Mexican peso (MXN)

Country Data Sources

Last updated: January 18, 2026

Portions of the page Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque are based on data from UNESCO — World Heritage List Dataset and on text from the Wikipedia article Palenque, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes made. Additional original content by World Heritage Explorer (WHE), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. WHE is not affiliated with UNESCO or the World Heritage Committee. Legal Notice. Privacy Policy.

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