The Maya ruins of Nim Li Punit stand atop a natural hill half a mile north of the Southern Hwy, near the village of Indian Creek. The site is notable for the 26 stelae found in the southern Plaza of the Stelae. Four of the finest are housed in the stela house beside the visitors center.
Stela 14, at 33ft, is the second-longest stela found anywhere in the Maya world (after Stela E from Quirigua, Guatemala). It shows the ruler of Nim Li Punit in an offering or incense-scattering ritual, wearing an enormous headdress which is responsible for the name Nim Li Punit ('Big Hat' in Kekchà Maya).
Rediscovered in 1976 by oil prospectors, Nim Li Punit was inhabited from some point in the middle Classic Period (AD 250–1000) until sometime between AD 800 and 1000. It was probably a town of 5000 to 7000 people at its peak, and likely was a political and religious community of some importance in the region.
The most interesting part of the site is the south end, comprising the Plaza of the Stelae and the Plaza of Royal Tombs. The Plaza of the Stelae is thought to have acted as a calendrical observatory: seen from its western mound, three of the small stones in front of the long eastern mound align with sunrise on the equinoxes and solstices. The Plaza of Royal Tombs, with three open, excavated tombs, was a residential area for the ruling family. Archaeologists uncovered four members of this family in Tomb 1, along with several jadeite items and 37 ceramic vessels.
Nim Li Punit has a good visitors center where you can view various items preserved from earlier excavations, as well as hire tour guides or get general information. Buses along the highway will drop you off or pick you up at the turnoff.
