Yucatan Peninsula
Yucatan opens its arms to visitors, offering its wealth of history, tradition and natural wonders all together with its modern dynamism and development. Here the Maya culture flourished, seen today in archaeological vestiges, a legacy to humanity. Besides, another patrimony can be admired, the architectonic treasure of incalculable cultural value which is the Colonial era, observed in cities such as Merida, Valladolid and Izamal.
Merida, The White City, was founded in 1542 by Francisco de Montejo “The Younger” upon the lay out of the indigenous city of Ichcaanziho also known as T'ho. Merida is today the capital of the State of Yucatan. Walking its streets the visitor can feel the romantic provincial atmosphere, witness to a past rich in history and legend. Trees, public squares, statues, beautiful Colonial and French architecture define the landscape of Merida, full of light and color. The aroma of delicious regional cuisine impregnates the restaurants and a mosaic of art and culture awaits at the museums and handcraft shops.
Merida at night dresses in light, inviting you to discover its charms: View the historical downtown district from a horse-drawn carriage, enjoy concerts where mestizas (native women) and musicians enchant you with their folklore and romanticism in evenings filled with music and poetry; or just walk down the Paseo de Montejo, a unique avenue lined with majestic residences that today are the pride of Merida revoqued to the henequen era or the green gold.
Izamal, originally the Mayan city of Itzamatul, or “Dew that Comes From Heaven”, is today Mexico's Magical Village. The oldest city on the Peninsula de Yucatan, Izamal was once the ceremonial center of the region and site of seven major Mayan pyramids. The base of one of the pyramids served as the foundation of the majestic Convent of San Antonio de Padua, built by the Spanish and site of the second largest open air atrium in the world, after St. Peter, in the Vatican. Most recently, the Convent was chosen as the site of Pope John Paul II's encounter with native people during one of his visits to Mexico.
Located 70 km from the City of Merida, Izamal is found on the tourist “Eastern Route”, together with Merida, Ticopo, Chichen Itza, Valladolid, Ek´Balam, San Felipe and Rio Lagartos. Horse drawn carriages carry the visitor for a tour of its plazas and parks, historic residential areas and beautiful streets where Fray Diego de Landa once walked, a living city of today proud of its past. At night the city offers a special view with the star-studded vault of the heavens marked by the silhouettes of the pyramids, temples and Colonial houses, a series of shadows as the city appears to wake from a century of dreaming.
Valladolid, “The Pearl of the East”, is located 160 kms from Merida. Founded in 1543 by Francisco de Montejo “The Nephew” over the ancient Maya city of Zaci. For centuries Valladolid has been known for its rich Spanish legacy, seen in its temples and the legacy of its oldest neighborhoods.
With a unique style, Valladolid has an exceptional Colonial flavor. To walk the streets lined by ancient houses painted in light colors, and to visit its neighborhoods with their churches and of course the imposing Convent of St. Bernard of Siene, a palpable Franciscan presence in the Peninsula, is to return to the past.
Valladolid holds one of the most lordly parks in Yucatan, framed by a majestic church that rises above the historical downtown district of the city. Its inhabitants, creators of beautiful handcrafts and native art, are also known for their skill and creativity in preparing exquisite dishes. All of this makes Valladolid a lively stamp of the provincial flavor of Mexico.
CENOTES (GATES TO THE UNDERWORLD)
Yucatan is distinguished for its cenotes, sinkholes where underground rivers break through the limestone crust of the earth. The term comes from the Maya word “Dzonot", or “hole filled with water”, truly unique in the world. Besides of being the only source of freshwater in the jungle, cenotes were also sacred to the Mayas, representing the doorway to the spiritual underworld.
The Peninsula of Yucatan has no surface rivers, due to the extremely porous limestone base. Often this limestone breaks, uncovering natural underground deposits of fresh water and allowing us to view the spectacular sight of crystal green or turquoise waters, forming true works of art due to its configurations of stalactites and stalagmites.
By tradition, cenotes distinguish the natural landscape of Yucatan. Details such as sunlight filtering through holes between the rocks and projected over the transparent water come into play, providing a visual banquet to those who admire nature.
Sizes and shapes of the cenotes differ according to their location. Some cenotes have been found to hold quantities of ancient offerings and jewelry, apparently thrown in the depths by the mayas who once inhabited the area. [ Cenotes in Riviera Maya ]
CAVES AND CAVERNS (NATURAL BEAUTY)
Beneath the earth's surface there are a series of tunnels and natural petrified formations where the Mayas would descend to meet their gods. These caverns were, and are, sacred for the mayas.
Numerous natural rock formations lead us into a new world of adventure, beauty and mystery. Some caves with large entrances are easily accessed; others have narrow openings and intricate passageways that excite the visitor. Some vaulted chambers rise up to 30 m ., with infinite numbers of stalagmites and stalactites showing where water has filtered in over hundreds of years. Vestiges of human presence over the millennia can be found in cave paintings and ceramic vessels, still intact.
A SUBTERRANEAN PARADISE
Among the most famous caverns are those of Loltun, Calcehtok and Balamkanche, part of the archaeological tourism route known as the Ruta Puuc (Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil, Labna and X´lapac) and the Eastern Route (Chichen Itza, Valladolid, Ticopo, Izamal, Yaxunah and Ek´Balam).
Cenotes are found throughout the State, with some of the most important located at X'Keken (Dzitnup), Ik'kil, Bolonchohol and Kankirixche.
The great archaeological value and exquisite natural beauty make these sites ideal for what is known as “alternative tourism” or “adventure tourism”: view, swim, dive and enjoy both the beauty and the mystery that date to millions of years ago. It is exciting to follow the paths in a “truck” (rail cart) drawn by horses, later to swim in crystalline underground waters, perhaps rappelling down into a cave; or simply biking or hiking through the hills as we discover the secrets held by these places.
The Cenotes and Caverns of the State of Yucatan are a unique experience, an immersion into a world of magic whose beauty seems almost unreal...
...A gift from the gods.
YUCATAN (A LIVING HERITAGE)
Yucatan, an important state of the Mayan World, and a great territory without borders, has throughout its extension ceremonial centers of great importance such as: Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Dzibilchaltun, Labna, X´cambo, Oxkintok, Mayapan and Ek´Balam each one with different architectonic style and phases during the mayan time.
Chichen Itza, the “Mouth of the Well of the Itzaes”, is located in the eastern part of the State of Yucatan, 120 km from the City of Merida. This important center combines majesty and nature, an inheritance of the Itzaes that settled down in the IX Century A.D. and held great cultural and political influence over other mayan areas.
Uxmal, “Three Times Built”, located 78 km from Merida, has a history rich in legends, myths and anecdotes. The city is located in a hilly region known as the “Puuc” region, a mayan word for “mountain range” later given to the distinctive architectonic style of the archaeological sites in the region.
Uxmal is the most representative example of this style: The “Governor's House” and “Temple of the Wizard”, 35 m . high, considered by experts as architectonic marvel for their precise construction and beauty.
In Ek'Balam , approximately 190 km from Merida, majestic constructions hidden among large trees, seems to emerge from the past to reveal some of their secrets. The city holds elements characteristic of the most important mayan cities, including monumental architecture, walls, stelae and the so-called hieroglyphic serpents, statues beautifully carved from blocks of stone.
This site is different from any other of the mayan region. Its mysteries remain to be discovered. Its ancient grandeur and the amazement produced by each of its discoveries mark it as one of the most important archaeological zones of Yucatan.
Mayapan , 43 km from the City of Merida, forms part of the tourism route known as “The Convent Route". Considered the last great Mayan capital, its name appears frequently in Maya as well as in Spanish literature. Its majesty is seen in its great buildings with a strong architectonic influence from Chichen Itza, and the principal structure, it is an exact replica of the Pyramid of Kukulcan on a smaller scale.
Mayapan is also distinguished by beautiful murals found in one of its structures and reminiscent of the Post Classic period, as well as its round buildings, called “Observatories”, and small sanctuaries
