Palenque
Collage of Palenque.
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 Location within Mesoamerica
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| Alternate name | Bàak', Lakamha |
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| Location | Chiapas, Mexico |
| Region | Chiapas |
| Coordinates | 17°29′2.32″N 92°2′46.78″W / 17.4839778°N 92.0463278°W |
| History | |
| Periods | Late Preclassic to Early Postclassic |
| Cultures | Maya civilization |
| Official name | Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, iii, iv |
| Designated | 1987 (11th session) |
| Reference no. | 411 |
| State Party | Mexico |
| Region | Latin America and the Caribbean |
Palenque (Spanish pronunciation: [pa'leŋke]; Yucatec Maya: Bàakʼ /ɓàːkʼ/), also anciently known as Lakamha (literally: "Big Water"), was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. AD 799. After its decline, it was absorbed into the jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees, but has since been excavated and restored and is now a famous archaeological site attracting thousands of visitors. It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 130 km (81 mi) south of Ciudad del Carmen, 150 m (164 yd) above sea level. It averages a humid 26 °C (79 °F) with roughly 2160 mm (85 in) of rain a year.
Palenque is a medium-sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal, Chichen Itza, or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced. Much of the history of Palenque has been reconstructed from reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the many monuments; historians now have a long sequence of the ruling dynasty of Palenque in the 5th century and extensive knowledge of the city-state's rivalry with other states such as Calakmul and Toniná. The most famous ruler of Palenque was K'inich Janaab Pakal, or Pacal the Great, whose tomb has been found and excavated in the Temple of the Inscriptions.
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