A tourist was berated by an angry crowd and hit with a stick after climbing the steps of the Mayan Temple of Kukulcán pyramid in Chichén Itzá over the weekend.
The unnamed Polish man incited outrage Saturday when he crossed the step-pyramid’s restricted zone and started climbing the storied steps, the Mexico Daily Post reported.
Climbing on the limestone steps has been banned since 2008, one year after it was named one of UNESCO’s New 7 Wonders of the World.
The tourist tried to access the forbidden area to take pictures, the outlet said.
In a video circulating on social media, the man can be seen being escorted back down the steps by a pair of officials while the crowd shouts reprimands and curses.
At one point, a shirtless man carrying a long stick approaches the tourist from behind and whacks him on the head.
José Arturo Chab Cárdenas of the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH) told the Mexico Daily Post that the tourist was subsequently detained for 12 hours before being fined 5,000 pesos, or about $263.
The payment was reportedly made to the Treasury of the Tinúm municipality.
Located on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula, the Temple of Kukulcán is one of Chichén Itzá’s crown jewels.
Built sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries CE, the temple is dedicated to Kukulcán, the feathered serpent deity. According to the Chichén Itzá website, the structure’s design allowed the Maya to track the spring and autumn equinoxes via a “light and shadow” effect on the temple’s northern staircase.
“Tourists must respect the security measures of the INAH in the archaeological zone to preserve the cultural heritage of Mexico, take care of other visitors and enjoy that Mayan legacy,” Chab Cárdenas told the Mexico Daily Post.
The Polish’s tourist’s detainment came just a few months after Abigail Villalobos, a 29-year-old Mexican national, went viral after climbing the pyramid and gyrating in front of the angry crowd.
Video footage of the incident showed Villalobos being taunted by onlookers, who doused her with water and pulled on her blonde tresses amid calls to “lock her up.”
