San Miguelito: Ruins and Museum in One

Usually, archeological sites don’t have their own museum, but they do at San Miguelito. Located right in Cancun’s hotel zone, San Miguelito is the perfect stop for those who would like to see Mayan ruins, but not venture too far off the beaten path.

Curiosities about San Miguelito

I know what you’re thinking: San Miguelito doesn’t sound too Mayan to me—not a single X among its letters. That’s because it’s not. It’s actually Spanish. Nobody knows what this place was called originally. It was discovered in a ranch called San Miguelito, and the name stuck.

Here’s another interesting tidbit about this place. As a protective measure, Cancun Mayans built their settlements behind the dunes formed by rivers, lagoons, and the Caribbean itself. Out of all them, San Miguelito is the only one that’s still holding on to any evidence of its protective dunes.

The ruins at San Miguelito

You know how much Mayans liked palaces. At the very center of the San Miguelito site, you’ll stumble upon the Chaak Palace. It is the tallest structure here, though, sadly, climbing it is prohibited. But the staircases are interesting enough: the figure of Chaak, the god for whom this palace was built, is carved into every stone. Chaak was really afraid of Copyright infringement, I guess.

There are other structures divided into three other areas. One has a name so cool it sounds like a really cool heavy metal band, rather than an archeological site: the Dragon complex.

You’ll be glad to know it’s easier to walk around this place than many other archeological sites due to the heavy foliage and the shade it projects on all the visitor paths.

You can’t miss the Mayan Museum—literally

Though San Miguelito is located within the Mayan Museum, the museum features artifacts and information about other sites like el Rey. Just one mile away, it’s easy to cover both sites in a single visit.