There are several very well preserved and interesting Mayan ruins located very near Casa Tortuga. The closest is in Tulum which is a short 5-6 km from Casa Tortuga. This site is relatively recent and was apparently visable by the Spanish as they first sailed along the Carribean coast in the 1400′s.
By this time most of the very sophisticated, large cities of the Yucatan were in ruins. The civilation of the Yucatan was at it’s height of development and city building around the time of Christ, with many cities on the Yucatan pennisula supporting thousands of people. Most of the ruins have yet to be excavated.
The Mayan ruins that are much more representative of the Mayas at their height of civilization are the ruins at Coba (sometimes spelled Koba’), which is located about 40 minutes from Casa Tortuga, and a relatively recently excavated ruin between Tizimin and Rio Lagartos (about half a a day’s drive), called Ek Balam.
Ek Balam Ruins
Ek Balam is particularly fascinating because of clay figures that are life size. These figures, which guard the tomb of a very important person, survived because they were covered by another pyramid that has now been removed. They surround the entrance to a tomb of a king (according to the information at the site). Ek Balam and Coba will give you an idea of the incredible skill at construction and stone work but it is Chichen Itza that will give you the idea of the incredible size of the cities when they were occupied.
A view of Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza is one of the most famous of the ruins in northern Yucatan and has been excavated since the 1800′s. I recommend that a trip to Chichen Itza be conducted over two days, with a night spent at one of the wonderful Rancho hotels at Chichen Itza. The drive is several hours (depending on whether you take local roads or the freeway) and there is so much to see at the site that it’s better not to try to do it in one day. There are many buildings of different ages that are near one another and the surrounding jungle has been cleared, giving you a much better feel for the amazing size, majesty, and spread of the cities, which then makes one able to imagine a city of 70,000 people existing in what is now jungle.
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The Mayan Ruins
There are several very well preserved and interesting Mayan ruins located very near Casa Tortuga. The closest is in Tulum which is a short 5-6 km from Casa Tortuga. This site is relatively recent and was apparently visable by the Spanish as they first sailed along the Carribean coast in the 1400′s.
By this time most of the very sophisticated, large cities of the Yucatan were in ruins. The civilation of the Yucatan was at it’s height of development and city building around the time of Christ, with many cities on the Yucatan pennisula supporting thousands of people. Most of the ruins have yet to be excavated.
Ek Balam Ruins
A view of Chichen Itza