Mexico in Numbers: Top 5 most-visited archaeological sites and museums in 2022

Chichén Itzá in Yucatán and the National History Museum in Mexico City are top of the list so far for 2022

Published November 16, 2022

Each year, the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) publishes the statistics on the volume of visitors to museums, historical monuments, and archaeological sites across the country.

The 2022 count goes from January to September and was published earlier this month.

Compared to the tourist influx of 2021, the figures have gone up by 52% at Chichén Itzá, which ranks as the most visited archaeological destination in the country.

As for museums, the four most visited are in Mexico City: the National History Museum (located in Chapultepec Castle), the National Museum of Anthropology, the Templo Mayor Museum and the National Museum of World Cultures.

Mexico’s Most Visited Archaeological Sites
January-September 2022

The ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá was Mexico’s most popular archaeological site this year. Mouse over each column to compare percentages of Mexican visitor numbers versus foreigners at each site.

Only one museum outside of the capital made it into the top five: the Regional Museum of Guanajuato “Alhónidga de Granaditas,” famous for hosting one of the most important battles of the Independence of Mexico.

Most of the visitors to these museums are Mexican nationals, and the National History Museum is the only one to receive close to a million visitors this year.

When it comes to archaeological sites, more than one million tourists have visited the top two most visited sites: Chichén Itzá in Yucatán attracted more than 2 million, and Teotihuacán in the State of Mexico, saw an influx of 1.4 million visitors.

The third most-visited site was Tulum – which registered more foreign visitors than Mexican nationals – followed by Monte Albán in Oaxaca and Palenque in Chiapas.

With reports from INAH and La Jornada Maya