Little Mayan ruins guide
Below is the list with the most beautiful Mayan ruin sites on the Yucatan Peninsula. All of which, you should not miss on a Mexico trip to Cancun or Playa del Carmen. The Yucatan Peninsula has great dive sites, cenotes and mystical places and Mayan temples. Here is a little Mayan ruins guide.
The Maya, their ruins and pyramids in Mexico
Even today, new Mayan ruins, temples and pyramids are yet underground. There is often a lack of funds for research. If you are traveling on the Yucatán Peninsula yourself, you can assume that in almost every elevation you see there is a legacy of the Mayan civilization.
Little mayan ruins guide: Ek Balam
This place is just about 18 miles north of the picturesque tourist town of Valladolid. The Mayan city of Ek Balam is still a real insider tip. You can move freely on the site during your visit and even climb the most impressive Mayan pyramid of the settlement, the famous acropolis.
Little mayan ruins guide: Cobá
The impressive ruins of Cobá are halfway between Valladolid and Tulum west of the highway. These ruins offer a large Mayan pyramid on which you can climb over 120 steep steps to enjoy the view over the surrounding jungle.
The Mayan settlement of Coba once covered an area of more than 70 square kilometers and was one of the largest Mayan cities on the Yucatan Peninsula. Until today it is not clear why Coba was abandoned by the Maya at an early stage.
Kohunlich & The Temple Of The Masks
The ruined city of Kohunlich is located about 50 kilometers west of Chetumal in the southern part of the Yucatán Peninsula, very close to the border with Belize. The original name of the Mayan city is not known, and the present name was derived by the archaeologists who rediscovered Kohunlich, only from a type of coconut tree that lives there.
The Maya Pyramid Of Becán
Just like Kohunlich, the ruins of Becán are located on road 186 leading west from Chetumal. However, you have to travel 70 kilometers more to get to Becán than to Kohunlich. But the time investment is more than worth it, because in Becán you will find a beautiful Mayan city with some of the most beautiful Mayan pyramids.
The original name of the ruined site of Becán is also unknown and Becán means “gorge formed by water”, which refers to the unique ditch around the Maya site.
The giant Mayan city of Calakmul
Together with Tikal and El Mirador, both located in what is now Guatemala, Calakmul was once one of the largest cities of the Mayan culture. It had more than 5,000 buildings and over 100 colossal pyramids and temples. The ruins of Calakmul are located a good 200 kilometers southwest of Chetumal in the middle of the nature reserve of the same name, which you will cross on the way to the entrance of the Mayan site.
