Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure includes a hidden port of the Atari 2600 game Pitfall! that can be accessed in two different ways:

• At the start of the game's fourth stage, Lost City of Copan, a doorway can be found guarded by a pair of white pixelated scorpions ripped from the original game. After going through this doorway, a portal can be found behind a nearby fake wall that will launch the port.
• Pitfall! can also be accessed by entering a code on the title screen. For the Genesis version, press Down, then press the A button 26 times, and then press Down one more time to launch the game. For the SNES version, press Select, then press the A button six times, press Select again, and then press Start to launch the game.

Depending on the respective method used to boot the game, dying or letting the 20-minute timer run out will bring you back to the doorway in Lost City of Copan, or the title screen.