Tourist caught on Mayan ruins mobbed by furious crowd in Mexico, pelted

A tourist was pelted with water and abuse by crowds outside a popular Mexican tourist attraction over her shameful act.

Yesterday, frightening footage surfaced of an unnamed woman being led through a jeering crowd, tugging at her hair and throwing items at her. Some appear to be forcibly escorting her from the site, others keeping the mobs at bay. The episode occurred at the popular attraction of the Kukulcán Pyramid, also known as El Castillo, in the Yucatan.

The woman, visiting the site, had earlier been seen climbing to the top of the pyramid.

A woman was mobbed after being caught on Mexico's El Castillo Pyramid. Photo / Twitter; TikTok, angelalopeze

Since 2008 it has been prohibited to climb the monuments. Particularly the Castillo, which at 25m is the tallest in the Chichen Itza archaeological site.

Another clip of the woman also emerged on the 365 steps of the pyramid. At the top she celebrates, arms raised holding an Indiana Jones-style hat.

Crowds below were disgusted. Having climbed the monument her mood changed at the prospect of descending down the steps to meet them. Below crowds were jeering “Jail! Jail! Jail!”

A TikTok of the episode captures the moment one brave man in a blue shirt, apparently a park official climbs up, to try an coax her down and protect her from the mob.

“This is why you don’t disrespect historic Mayan pyramids,” the video is captioned.

Local news said that the ancient shrines had not seen such violence since they were used for human offerings, with Merco Press reporting crowds below were calling “sacrifice” as she approached them.

A statement from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History INAH issued a statement noting the monument was not damaged. It is not known if the woman was a Mexican national or an international tourist.

However the penalties for anyone caught climbing the monuments are steep. Fines range from $4000 to $8400 for trespassers, depending on the amount of damage caused.

Mexico’s Chichen Itza is an Unesco World Heritage Site and one of the country’s most popular attractions. The 1000-year-old temples draw over 2.5 million visitors a year.