A tourist’s decision to climb a Mayan temple in Mexico didn’t go down well with locals, and she faced serious backlash from furious crowds once they got her down. In a video uploaded to TikTok, the tourist, who’s said to be from Spain, can be seen climbing the Mayan Temple of Kukulcán in Chichén Itzá, which is explicitly prohibited. The tourist didn’t seem to care and decided to go over the barriers and find her way to the top anyway. Once she got down, a riot ensued.
@angelalopeze this is so disrespectful… don’t mess with my Mexican people 🇲🇽 #chichenitza #disrespectful #mayanpyramid #vacation #crazy #viral
- The tourist was clearly trying to be provocative. Despite being jeered and shouted at by the crowd below, the woman danced and waved her arms around happily once she reached the top. Meanwhile, members of the crowd branded her an “a-hole” and an idiot.
- Once she came down, she was in serious trouble. The tourist walked into the temple room at the top of the pyramid and eventually came down. There, officials from the Mexican Institute of Anthropology and History were there to meet her.
- The crowd was absolutely furious at the blatant disrespect. The video shows onlookers throwing water from plastic bottles on the woman, shouting at her, and calling her “stupid.” Officials then lead the woman away, but not before someone knocks her hat off her head.
- The tourist’s antics got her arrested. Local police took her into custody and hit her with a considerable fine for trespassing on the UNESCO World Heritage site. Since 2008, the site has been inaccessible to visitors in order to keep it safe from erosion and graffiti. It’s estimated the woman will have been charged anywhere between $2,500 and $5,000.
- Thankfully, she didn’t cause any damage. She’s not the first tourist to climb this pyramid despite knowing better. Sadly, it’s unlikely she’ll be the last, either. However, the good news is that she didn’t cause any damage while up there.
