A tourist from Germany has been arrested by the police and mobbed by angry locals after he disobeyed laws in Mexico that forbid climbing the pyramidal sides of an ancient Mayan temple in Yucatán. The incident on 20 March 2025 was captured in video footage obtained by Sky News and the Daily Mail.
@citadinosmx Un turista alemán de 38 años desató la indignación al escalar ilegalmente la pirámide de Kukulkán en Chichén Itzá durante el equinoccio de primavera. Este acto, además de irrespetuoso, está prohibido para preservar el patrimonio cultural. Al descender, fue confrontado por los asistentes y detenido por las autoridades. #C#ChichénItzáC#CulturaMayaR#RespetoAlPatrimonioc#citadinosmx ♬ sonido original – citadinos mx
Millennia-old, UNESCO-recognised site
The Temple of Kukulcan is part of the Chichén Itzá ruins complex, an historic and UNESCO-recognised world heritage site that rouses sensitivities at this time of year as it has particular associations with the Spring equinox when its millennia-old design reveals a light and shadow effect only visible as the season changes.
Access onto the temple structures is prohibited to ensure “that the pyramid remains intact for future generations to admire and study,” the attraction’s website notes. What’s more, the ban on climbing is not only intended to protect the monument but visitors themselves, due to the pyramid’s steep steps that “make climbing a risky activity. Before the ban, there were numerous reports of visitors losing their footing and sustaining injuries. The prohibition on climbing not only protects the structure but also safeguards visitors from potential accidents.”
Arrested and verbally and physically assaulted
Between 8,000 and 9,000 thousand visitors were estimated by Mexico Daily News to have been at the complex when the unnamed man scaled the step-like temple structure. Footage shows him chased by a security guard while onlookers boo him and shout reproaches. “You are not allowed to go up the temple!” says one bystander in Spanish, while others call out insults such as “idiot” and “stupid.”
National Guard officers then were filmed arriving to assist the security officer, arresting and restraining the trespasser. It was as they were leading him away from the scene that people approached at speed to strike and berate him.
@skynews Footage shows security guards pursuing the German tourist up the ancient Mayan temple before he was attacked by members of the public. #Mayantemple #mexico #pyramid ♬ original sound – Sky News
From damage and disrespect to detention
Aside from the vigilante response, the tourist could face both financial and custodial consequences for venturing onto the temple structure. Under Mexican laws governing monuments and areas of archaeological interest, scaling such temple walls is illegal and can result in penalties from 55,760 MXN to 278,800 MXN (around €2,500 to €12,700). Where significant damage has been caused by the trespass, sentencing can include imprisonment.
As the spring travel season kicks off in destinations around the world, reports of tourist misbehaviour and its consequences are again surfacing. Two Japanese visitors to China’s Great Wall were recently arrested, detained for two weeks, and deported, after taking a picture of their indecently exposed behinds at the site. Meanwhile, in Italy, authorities are four months into a newly imposed ticketing regime and a 20,000-a-day cap on visitors to the ancient site of Pompeii.
