Yucatan, what to see in Mexico, what to do and how to organize your trip to the ancient Mayan civilization, how to bargain to take home beautiful souvenirs and what not to be missed.
Immense beaches of fine white sand and crystalline blue-green sea; delightful and colorful cities once a destination for pirates; spectacular archaeological areas where the signs of an ancient and fascinating civilization are still evident: welcome to the peninsula of Yucatan, a place where beauties of nature, history and culture really have a lot to offer.
This peninsula, located in the Central American Atlantic Caribbean belt, for a large part of the territory Mexican, is a destination that attracts a large number of visitors every year. And how to blame him!
Along the entire coastal strip called Riviera Maya there are many beautiful beaches and well-known locations. The most popular is certainly Cancun, with its infinite expanse of luxurious hotels and night clubs, a favorite destination especially for young people, which stretch along the entire coast. Here is the famous Coco Bongo, where some scenes of the movie The Mask were shot.
Cancun is also the starting point where to start tours and excursions. Moving away from the noisy Cancun we find other delightful locations, interspersed with numerous tourist villages with lots of direct access to the beach, deckchairs under the palm trees, mega pools, food at all hours of the day, smiling waiters who work 20 hours a day and the formula all inclusive.
If you want to shop of various kinds or simply buy souvenirs, move to Playa del Carmen, once a simple village and now a place full of hotels and restaurants. Beware of Mexican sellers, they are very skilled bargainers and always manage to convince you that you are making the deal of your life. A tip: never accept the first price!
If, on the other hand, you are looking for a quieter beach and less besieged by mass tourism then Jumpsuit is for you. Here is also thethe only archaeological area close to the sea, with its fascinating "The Castle”, A tower placed on the highest part of the cliff.
Lovers of the diving or simply of snorkeling they cannot get lost Isla Mujeres (island of women) with its coral reefs, caves and rich marine life.
But as mentioned before, the Yucatan is not just sea and beaches. This peninsula was the "kingdom" of the Maya, an ancient and mysterious pre-Columbian civilization, which became famous for its important astronomical discoveries. There are many archaeological areas, declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO, often immersed and surrounded by lush tropical vegetation, where there are the famous pyramids, temples, fields for the game of pelota and the places where human sacrifices were made.
The best known is Chichen Itza, a few kilometers from Cancun, one of the seven wonders of the world. Here every year, during the spring equinox, on the steps of the temple of Kukulkan, thanks to a play of light and shadow, the silhouette of a snake is formed that climbs the stairs to the top.
Less crowded, but no less beautiful, are the picturesque and wild Uxmal, a few kilometers from Merida; Palenque, in the heart of Chapas, with its very green meadows, which contains many of the most beautiful and significant works of the Maya; Yaxchilan, on the border between Mexico and Guatemala, which is accessed from the Usumacinta River aboard a canoe, with crocodiles strolling on the shore and howler monkeys that look like jaguars.
It is worth crossing the border and arriving at Tikal, in Guatemala, where the largest archaeological area is located, the ruins of which had been completely engulfed by dense vegetation. Try to climb to the top of the highest pyramid and admire the view: goosebumps!
In addition to all the places to see and visit, the Yucatan is a region that must be lived and savored calmly, in all its facets, colors and flavors.
