Exploring Maya Temples and Caves in 100 Hours: MrBeast's Trip Through Ancient Sites in Mexico
MrBeast ミスタービースト
MrBeast (Jimmy) and his friends Nolan and Tareq set out to spend 100 hours exploring Maya ruins, accompanied by local guides. The premise is that these sites hide "ancient Mayan secrets" and that the group can go places the public normally cannot. The trip covers a temple-filled city in the jungle, a bat-filled cave, a sacred cave the Maya associated with humanity's origin, a reconstruction of the ancient ball game, and finally the pyramid of K'uk'ulkan, which the video calls "the seventh wonder of the world." The recurring question is whether any hidden treasure is left. The recurring answer is no, but the sites themselves turn out to be the point.
Arriving by Helicopter at a 2,000-Year-Old Temple
The video opens with the group dropped off on top of a temple the video says is about 2,000 years old, surrounded by jungle in every direction. Jimmy frames the trip around exclusive access. He says "nobody gets to go where we're going" and promises a visit to a wonder of the world later on.
Their first stop is a doorway into the temple and a deep tunnel inside. The guide explains that the building is a pyramid built on top of an older pyramid, so the deeper they go, the older the construction becomes. Near the entrance is a large statue that the video describes as the corn god inside a jaguar's mouth. Jimmy offers joking readings of its details, and the guide corrects him: what Jimmy called a toilet is the figure's earring.
The passages are narrow and precarious. The group remarks that they can't believe the government is allowing this, and the video says not even archaeologists are normally allowed back that far.
A Funerary Mask of the Snake Kingdom
At the end of the tunnels, the guide reveals a surprise found within the last two decades: a funerary mask depicting the face of one of the kings of the Snake Kingdom. According to the guide, the Maya used masks like this to protect the dead from dangers on their journey to the underworld. The group says it was made more than 1,000 years ago.
Jimmy is allowed to hold it. He quickly becomes uncomfortable, asks why it isn't in a museum and why a YouTuber is holding it, and hands it back. He then jokes about keeping it secret while showing it to "200,000,000 people."
The Abandoned City and Its Reconstructed Past
After a night in hammocks, where Jimmy notes the dangers of the jungle (monkeys, snakes, and jaguars, which he says have killed people there), the group explores the rest of what they call a massive abandoned city. Because the ruins give little sense of their original scale, the video uses digital reconstructions. The group says more than 100,000 people once lived there, with temples everywhere and a network of roads.
Painted artwork inside the buildings is also brought to life as animation, which Jimmy calls one of his favorite parts of these videos. The team presents the animations as their "best estimation" of what the images represent and as a glimpse of Maya life 2,500 years ago. One scene becomes a running joke: Nolan had read part of a painting as a llama, and the others tease him for it. Nolan retaliates by scaring Tareq with a spider.
The Ball Court and the King's Palace
The group stands on the site of what they say was a ball court more than 2,000 years ago. The video calls the game the first team sport to use a ball, adding "as far as we know." The group also repeats the claim that the captain of the losing team was beheaded. This detail returns later when they try the game themselves.
They then visit a structure described as the residence of the king and queen. The video's dates here are inconsistent: the narration says the king lived there around 2,000 years ago but shows a reconstruction of how it looked 2,500 years ago. The reconstruction shows crowds who, according to the video, would wait for hours for a chance to see the king. Jimmy speculates that the king would have watched sports from the palace. The interior feels like a labyrinth, and the guide, Ernesto, agrees that the confusing layout served to protect the king.
Jimmy presses stone blocks and asks whether anyone has checked them for a hidden treasure room. Ernesto won't try it himself. When Jimmy asks whether the king really never built a secret treasure room 2,600 years ago, Ernesto answers: "Maybe yes, but it's hidden."
The Bat Cave
Hoping to find the king's treasure, the group travels to a cave in the jungle. The guide explains that the Maya thought of the cave as the mouth of the monster of the Earth. Inside, thousands of bats swarm around them, a scene Jimmy calls a "bat tornado." He concludes that if any treasure exists there, it is buried under tons of bat droppings. Nolan gets hit by droppings and they leave, having found nothing.
That night they carry torches to one more temple that might hold treasure. Jimmy says it feels like being an ancient adventurer, but every passage turns out to be a dead end. The night ends with a scare when they spot something in the trees and can't tell whether it is a monkey or a jaguar.
A New Site: The Gateway to the Underworld
The next morning Jimmy reveals that the city with its dozens of temples was not the whole video. A helicopter takes them to a second location, which he describes as having some of the most remarkable ancient structures ever built. The first stop is a structure the video says the Maya called the gateway to the underworld. The guide says it once had giant fangs at the entrance, which have since fallen off.
Inside, Jimmy guesses that one building was a temple used for sacrifices, and the guide confirms it.
The Cave of the Tree of Life
The guide's main goal at this site is a cave. He explains that the Maya believed humanity came from a cave, and that deep inside this one is what they called the Tree of Life, from which they believed all people originated. Because the place is so sacred, the guide holds a ceremony to ask the spirits of the cave for permission to enter, purifying the entrance before the group goes in. Jimmy jokes that the spirits will reject Nolan. After the ritual, the guide indicates that Nolan was accepted.
The deeper they go, the hotter it gets. The guide warns that the air will become harder to breathe as they descend. According to the video, the Maya tried to seal the cave off, and the group again presents it as something the Maya did not want outsiders to see.
The "Tree of Life" turns out not to be a literal tree. Jimmy admits he expected one. The guide identifies it as "the sacred Ceiba that holds the sky." Around it are pots the guide says the Maya made. The tall ones were used to burn incense to attract the gods' attention. Jimmy reflects that if you actually believed humans came from this place, you would understand why it was held sacred.
The Oxygen Tunnel and the Giant Spider
The next section of the cave requires oxygen tanks. Jimmy asks how deep they are going, and the guide says about two football fields. Nolan initially refuses, citing the lack of oxygen. Soon after they start, one member of the group says he feels dizzy and is given oxygen.
The guide points out ceramic pot shards on the floor. When Jimmy asks whether he can take one home, the guide says he would go to jail, and Jimmy says he won't. Meanwhile Nolan hides and tries to scare the others. In the tunnel there are more bats and stalactites.
Near the end, they encounter what Jimmy calls "the biggest spider in the world" right behind him, presented as the tunnel's "final boss." Asked why such a spider would sit at the end of a secret tunnel in the Maya's most sacred place, one of them suggests it's protecting something. Instead of pressing on, they "let the secret tunnel keep its secrets" and turn back.
Day Four: Playing Pitz
On day four, Jimmy wants to know what the Maya did for fun and turns to the ball game introduced earlier. The video says the Maya invented a game called pitz more than 3,000 years ago. Players scored by getting a ball through a small hoop, as in basketball, but could not use their hands, as in soccer. The group again mentions that the losing captain was beheaded.
The game proves very difficult. Even after the camera crew joins in to help, the video shows failure after failure, and at one point Jimmy says they might never score. The footage cuts away before showing a successful goal. Nolan is declared the loser.
The Cenote and a Maya Dinner
The narration suggests that surviving players may have celebrated by descending into a sinkhole to swim in its natural pools. The group swims in a cenote. Jimmy calls the water refreshing, while others find it very cold.
That evening they eat a meal presented as what the Maya ate more than 1,000 years ago. The group links the dinner back to the corn god, since corn is the main ingredient in tortillas, and Jimmy jokingly asks the editor whether the Maya invented tacos.
K'uk'ulkan: The Clap Echo and the Empty Room
In the final hours of the trip, the group reaches the temple of K'uk'ulkan, which the video calls the seventh wonder of the world. The video says the pyramid is remarkable not only for its size but for its sound: clapping in front of it produces an echo that sounds like a laser coming back. The video presents this as something the Maya somehow built into the structure.
Their real goal is the temple room at the top, which they say is so sacred to local people that no one is allowed up there. Jimmy says that, out of respect for the culture and for those who hold it sacred, they will not touch the temple. Instead they fly a drone up to look inside, after checking with their guide, Arthur, who agrees.
The room is empty. Arthur explains that about 500 years ago the Spanish arrived and took much of what was inside. The video then shows a reconstruction of how historians think the pyramid once looked, and Jimmy calls it very beautiful.
The treasure hunt that runs through the whole video ends without any treasure. Jimmy closes by saying that although they found no gold, he is grateful to have been able to visit these monuments at all and share them with viewers.
We just got dropped off on this 2,000-year-old ancient temple! Bro, we're so high up! And we're surrounded by jungle. See ya later! Let's go see what we can find!
In this video, we're gonna be exploring dozens of ancient temples, all of which hide ancient Mayan secrets from the world, deep underground. Everything you guys are seeing now the Mayans didn't want us to see. Nobody gets to go where we're going. Including exploring one of the seven wonders of the world. But we only had 100 hours to make discoveries.
Dude, I'm discovering these stairs are huge. Yeah. I wanna find an escalator. Let's go discover the secrets of the Mayans.
This is the door to the inside of this massive Mayan temple. Oh, that's a deep tunnel. Dibs on going first! That's fine with me. There's booby traps. This temple is over 2,000 years old. Whoa. This is insane! We're inside an ancient temple right now. Where are we going? Oh, my gosh! Oh, wow.
The first thing you see in this temple is this giant statue, which is supposedly the corn god inside of a jaguar's mouth. This is so beautiful! My gosh!
I'm gonna tell you what I think this means then you tell me what it means, okay? This is a hand. This is a parade. That's a toilet. Wrong! Okay. No, that is not his toilet. That is his earring. Yeah, Jimmy. Oh.
So here's the thing, this place is actually a pyramid built on top of a pyramid. So, the deeper we go in, the older things get. Be careful, boys. This is so sketchy, Jimmy. Can't believe the government's letting us do this! It really is crazy. Not even archaeologists are allowed to go back here. How deep underground are we?
And after hours of navigating this ancient temple, we finally made it to the end. Now that we're at the end, you said you had a surprise. Yes! This has been found in the last two decades. Whoa! What?! It is a funerary mask. This is the face of one of the kings of the Snake Kingdom.
The Mayans used masks like this one to shield those that had passed away from dangers on their journey to the underworld. Can I hold it? Yes. This was made over 1,000 years ago. Yes. Which means my great-great-great-great-great grandparents weren't even alive. Why is this not in a museum? Why's a YouTuber holding this? Get this away from me! Take it. Take it. Don't tell anybody. Okay. I totally won't show 200,000,000 people.
That's it for this temple, but we are in the middle of a giant city with multiple other ancient temples! And later in this video, even visiting the seventh wonder of the world! Let's find some treasure!
This jungle's full of monkeys, snakes, and people have even died to jaguars here. Well, we survived Snake Island. Wait… Is that a monkey? Sir! Sir! Sir!
Well, guys, this is where we're gonna be camping tonight. Look at these hammocks! We still have over a dozen temples to explore. I need you guys to get some good sleep, because this video's just getting started.
Good morning, boys! Good morning! First things first, we need to explore the rest of this massive abandoned city. And looking at it now, it's hard to imagine what it might've looked like. And so, I'll just show you.
Over 100,000 people used to live in this city. That's what that used to look like. This is what they think these roads looked like. There were temples everywhere. It was flourishing. But on the inside, you'd witness magnificent artwork like this.
Whoa! Oh, this is incredible. One of my favorite part of these videos is when we take old paintings and bring 'em to life. So this is our best estimation of what they represent. Bro, this is so cool! It's a rare glimpse into what the life of a Mayan looked like 2,500 years ago. This is amazing!
Nolan really thought that was a llama. Can we talk about this for a second? Nolan, you thought that was a llama? Cuz, look, I thought that was the eye, that was the mouth, and I thought that was the leg. Yeah, I thought you… were smart.
And after I picked on Nolan, Nolan returned the favor to Tareq with a spider. Tareq, only— Stop. Tareq's gonna quit.
My friends have a strange way of having fun, but the Mayan way was arguably stranger. We're standing where a ball court used to exist over 2,000 years ago. This was the first ever team sport to use a ball. As far as we know… Also the captain of the losing team's head got cut off. Yes. No, but the Mayans are crazy, man.
Whoa! This is huge. Yeah. So beautiful. Why don't we build temples like this today? Around 2,000 years ago, this is where the king and his queen lived. But 2,500 years ago, this is what it looked like. Massive crowds of people would gather here and even wait for hours just for a chance to see the king. And here it is today. Let's go check it out. Okay.
2,000 years ago, the king would probably stand here and watch sports from his palace. Kinda cool. Oh, my gosh. It's kinda like a labyrinth. Yes, because if you want to protect your king… You make it confusing. …you make it confusing.
Ernesto, be honest with me. Has anyone ever pressed this block in to see if it reveals hidden treasure? I would not do it… How about this one? How about this one? You're telling me the king didn't build a hidden treasure room 2,600 years ago? Maybe yes, but it's hidden.
With the hopes of finding the king's treasure, we ventured to a cave deep in the jungle, where the treasure may lie. Hey, Jimmy did not say anything about bats, bro. Oh my… Yo, there's so many bats. They just flew right behind our heads.
The Mayans, they used to think that this is the mouth of the monster of the Earth. Look above us right now. We're surrounded by bats. Thousands of bats swarming us. Dude, it's a bat tornado. If there is a Mayan treasure there, it's under tons of… Bat poop. …bat poop.
I feel like I've already found my treasure. This is beautiful. We're gonna leave. There's a lot of bats. I would prefer if you go fast. Oh, I got poo'd on! For me, this is the real treasure. Oh, it hit my hand! Nolan, let's get you out of here. We've gotta get out of here. There's absolutely no treasure here.
But there's still one more temple that might have treasure. And because it's already dark out— Boys, light your torches, and let's go on an adventure. If our torches go out before we get to an ancient temple, I'm gonna be very sad. Temple! Temple! Temple!
This is so much cooler with just torches. Let's see what this bad boy looks like. Feel like an ancient adventurer. But as it turns out… All right, it's a dead end. …this didn't go well either. Everything's a dead end.
Oh, my God! What was that? There's a monkey up there. Wait, is that a monkey or a jaguar?! Why is this video becoming scary all of a sudden? Make sure you sleep well tonight, because I have a big surprise for you in the morning.
Let me guess, you guys thought the dozens of ancient temples in this city was the entire video? Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Send the helicopter back. Because to explore even further, we were gonna need a lift.
I'm climbing these stairs like a dog… We're almost there. There's our ride! All right, we've gotta go. Let's go explore some more temples!
And where we're going has some of the craziest ancient remains ever built by mankind. And to kick off this location, we're gonna visit this bad boy, which the Mayans used to call the gateway to the underworld. Back in the day, there used to be giant fangs here. What happened to them? They fell off. That seems logical. Let's go explore!
Whoa… this is awesome. There's some very special features that I love, like that structure in the middle. Wow. I'm gonna guess this building was a temple. Was it for sacrifices? Yes. You got it. Yes! I had something right! What a nerd. Bro lost his hat.
But what our guide really wanted to show us was a cave which Mayans believed humans emerged from. The Maya believe that humanity came from a cave. Deep inside of there is what they called the Tree of Life, and they believed that all of us spawned from this very majestic, beautiful tree deep in this cave.
This is so sacred that we're gonna do a ceremony to ask for permission to the spirits of the cave. If I was a betting man, I'd say the spirits are gonna reject Nolan.
And as we entered the cave… Whoa. Okay. This definitely looks sacred. …we were met with the ritual our guide spoke of. What is he doing now? He's purifying the entrance of the cave. And it's here where we would seek the approval of the gods.
Naturally, I wasn't worried at all. But were the gods really about to let Nolan enter this sacred place? I hope they accept me. I think it's good. What's he doing? All right, is he good? Come on. The spirits didn't reject him. Thank goodness.
So with the gods officially on our side, we started our journey for the Tree of Life. But the deeper into the cave we went, the hotter it got. Is it just me, or is it only getting hotter in this cave? It's getting hotter, and the air's gonna be more difficult to breathe. More difficult to breathe, yeah. I'm so hot right now.
The deeper you go in the cave, the thinner the air gets. I don't know if you can see the sweat. It is really hot in here. This cave just keeps on going, but at least there's no bats. Everything you guys are seeing now, the Mayans didn't want us to see. They literally tried sealing this off.
Imagine being a Maya 2,000 years ago, see this beautiful cave, and all of a sudden see this beautiful room… Whoa. …and the amazing tree. Oh… Am I the only one that thought the Tree of Life was an actual tree? Yes, this is it. This is the sacred ceiba that holds the sky.
Are these pots around it the same pots the Mayans created? Yes, sir. So the tall ones, they put incense, and they burn it to get the attention of the gods. This is very cool. If you were a Mayan thousands of years ago, and actually believed that this is where humans came from, I understand why they thought this was so sacred. Of course, of course.
But this cave is about to get really dangerous, because where we're going next, we will literally need an oxygen tank to breathe. Why do I keep doing things in videos that could kill me? Worst idea ever!
So after a few deep breaths to top off on oxygen… How deep are we going? About two football fields. Yo, I'm gonna stay up here. You're always backing out on it. He said there's no oxygen. I don't wanna hear it.
And Nolan may have been on to something, because at the literal first thing our guide wanted to show us… I'm dizzy, and… Are you good? Hey, take— No, I'm good, I'm good. Whether you like it or not, you're gonna get some oxygen. Breathe.
Anyways, what were you saying? Well, there's some ceramic pot shards. Whoa… This is so cool. Can I take one home? Well, you would go to jail. I would go to jail? Yeah, sure. All right. I won't take one home.
I can't believe they actually believe me. They're so gullible. Time to blend in and scare 'em. Look at all the bats in this tunnel. Let's continue! Wait, I actually— Unironically, I don't know. Do bats bite humans? I found a hiding spot. Oh, there's a bat.
Jimmy, get you a hit of this oxygen. So we're only getting deeper. Here, get you some. The air's getting thicker. But as we got close to the end, we were confronted by the final boss of this secret tunnel.
See those… Okay. …the stalactites? Wait! Jimmy, behind you is the biggest spider in the world. Oh, my gosh! What did the Mayans give the insects down here? Why do you think the world's largest spider is at the end of a secret tunnel in the most sacred place of the Mayans? It's protecting something. What do you think? I think so.
So instead of fighting the final boss… we let the secret tunnel keep its secrets. Oh, my gosh. That was terrifying. I almost threw the oxygen tank right at your face.
And after escaping with our lives, we were exhausted. So we headed to our new camp to turn in. Because not only were we gonna need our energy for the seventh wonder of the world. For day four, I wanted to know what the Mayans did for fun. Starting with… The first ever team-based game to use a ball.
Over 3,000 years ago, the Mayans invented the game of pitz, where you score by shooting a ball through a small hoop, like in basketball. Only, you can't use your hands just like in soccer. But remember what we said all the way back in day two… The losing captain's head would get cut off. The head?
This is hard. I say we're gonna get the hang of it. And although we started to get a handle on the ball, it's safe to say we were still far from scoring… So I even brought in our camera guys to help out. But even then, failure after failure only brought us countless more failures.
Wait, wait. We might not ever score. But in ancient times, giving up meant literally losing your head. Nolan? You better stand up, bro. And so failure after failure continued until…
After a long day of this brutal sport, the surviving players might've celebrated by heading down a sinkhole for a relaxing dip in the natural pools. And while I'm not cutting any heads off, Nolan did lose at pitz.
Is the water cold? It's kinda refreshing! Oh, is it? Yeah. Go for it! Oh, this water feels amazing. It doesn't look like you think it feels amazing. Oh, it's so cold!
And although a swim in the cenote is refreshing, the craziest Mayan temple—a literal seventh wonder of the world—is still to come. But first… A classic Mayan dinner!
So everything you're seeing here is what the Mayans used to eat over 1,000 years ago. As you've heard throughout this video, they worshiped the corn god. And if you don't know, corn is a main ingredient in tortillas. Whoever's editing this, did the Mayans invent tacos? Yes or no? To our final night, cheers. Enjoy the Mayan tacos.
And to wrap up the night, we have a special Mayan dessert. The brand new Feastables Peanut Butter Cups! Wait—brand new but it's a Mayan dessert? Don't ask questions. It's dessert. Here you go. The king of marketing over here. Bro, look at how much peanut butter is in there.
Isn't it sad that there are humans on this Earth whose taste buds have not been blessed with the brand new Feastables Peanut Butter Cups? So if you want an ethically sourced, amazing-tasting snack, make sure you reach for Feastables. It's good. The only Mayan-approved snack on the planet.
Before I go to sleep, I wanna let you guys know that I'm giving away $500,000 to ten random people that subscribe to the channel. No joke. My birthday is coming up. And to celebrate, ten random people that subscribe to the channel will win $50,000 each. Thanks to Jack Link's, the best beef jerky, for providing me this awesome birthday present. And I'll see you guys at the seventh wonder of the world.
And with the last remaining hours of our trip here, it's the moment you've all been waiting for: the seventh wonder of the world, the temple of K'uk'ulkan. Bro, this is so cool. I can't believe we're actually here.
K'uk'ulkan is the seventh wonder of the world, partially for its grand size, but weirdly enough, also for the way it sounds. The Mayans somehow constructed this in a way where if you clap in front of it… you hear what sounds like a laser coming back at you.
All right, anyways! What we actually came here for… At the top of this pyramid is a temple so sacred to the locals that no one is allowed up there. Which begs the question: What Mayan secrets lay in that ancient room? Out of respect for the culture and all the people who hold this very sacred, we are not gonna touch the temple. Instead, we're gonna fly this drone up to see what's in that secret room. You cool with this? Yeah, that's cool. Godspeed.
Oh, my gosh, this looks so majestic. I'm dying to know. All right, let's see what's in this room. Wait… Arthur, the room's empty. Well… 500 years ago, the Spanish came here, and they take a lot of stuffs inside.
But before everything was stolen, this is what historians think the seventh wonder of the world looked like. Man, not gonna lie, it's actually very beautiful. And while we didn't find any gold, I'm grateful that I can even visit these ancient monuments and share it with you. Guys, I love you. Mexico, it's been great. See you later.
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