Nature combines with ancient Mayan architecture in the most startling manner when Mexico's Chichen Itza experiences the spring equinox.
Sunlight creates the image of a snake slithering down the site's biggest pyramid – El Castillo – on March 20th, to the wonder of the tourists who flock to the ancient ruins in their hundreds.
Chichen Itza, situated in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, is one of the great centres of Mayan civilisation which stretched over southern Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala at its peak.
The site features a bewildering 24-metre high temple, Kukulkan, which is flanked by a ball court, the Sacred Canote temple and a group of columns which feature carvings of Toltec warriors, a nearby tribe.
There are dozens of other sites dotted around the region, including Palenque, where the pyramids are set in the context of thick jungle, and Tulum, where the ancient Mayan buildings are crumbling on the edge of cliffs overlooking the crystal waters of the Caribbean.
For the more active visitor to the Yucatan region, holidaymakers should visit Cancun, one of North America's largest beach resorts and one of the Caribbean's top scuba diving locations.
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