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Maps

THE RIVIERA MAYA
The 100 miles of perfect beach that runs down the eastern flank of the Yucatan Peninsula from Cancun to Tulum. Twenty years ago it was dotted with nothing more than a few fishing villages. We can only say that the sheer beauty of
this place is still impressive. The corridor is home to ancestral villages, Mayan ruins, ancient ports of call, virgin beaches, resort communities and more.. Here is an introduction to the Riviera Maya.

Mileage is distance from Cancun.

PUERTO MORELOS (36 km)
Puerto Morelos was a typical fishing village that woke up to find ex-patriots building houses on the beach. It has responded by changing little, which is why everybody likes the place. A few small restaurants, hotels private homes
and villas and some guesthouses exist, and there's an intimate five-star resort (Caribbean Reef Club) south of the ferry docks (car and truck transport to Cozumel). Excellent deserted beaches south of town. A patch of mangroves
makes for good birding; snorkeling and diving; camping allowed.

DR. ALFREDO BARRERA MARIN BOTANICAL GARDENS (37 km)
These 60 hectares of tropical forest just may constitute the largest botanical garden in Mexico. The park is located right off the highway and walking its easy trails is a great way to relax. All the precious hardwoods for which
Mesoamerica is famous grow here, including the chicozapote tree from which chicle was and is extracted. The grounds include a collection of wild orchids, another of medicinal herbs, a forest of cacti and other succulents, a chiclero
camp and examples of authentic Maya housing (traditionally-made palapas). Visitors often spot wild deer, spider monkeys, parrots, toucans and other birds. The small on-site ruin dates to around 1400 AD. A tree-house offers a
breathtaking view of the park and surrounding area all the way to the ocean. Open daily: 9am-4pm; birders admitted earlier on request. Bug repellent & long pants necessary.

PUNTA BETE / XCALACOCO (52 KM)
Pronounced ísh-cala-coco, the name refers to both the miles-long beach and the outpost of bungalows and lean-tos that have been for over 20 years. This honey of a getaway has been operated by the same family for generations and as yet
they've resisted bids to develop. A long windswept beach, fringed by coco palms and evergreens is dotted with a handful of bungalows set not more than 30 meters from the water (hot and cold running water, beds and hammocks). It's a come-as-you-are, do-what-you-want kind of place and you're welcome whether you use the facilities or not. Gorgeous and isolated.  

PLAYA DEL CARMEN (68 km)
You can find just about anything in Playa del Carmen: ferries to Cozumel, B&Bs, a five-star resort complex, rustic cabañas, ultra-luxurious vacation homes, dive shops, trendy boutiques, bars, restaurants and some of the widest
beaches on the coast. Playa's 'fishing village' days are well behind her, but that aspect of her genesis is still apparent, lending the town a certain quirky charm. Lots of Europeans. Good swimming, diving and fishing. Plenty of activity and lots of action along La Quinta Avenida (5th avenue).

XCARET (72 km)
Promoted as an 'eco-archaeological park', Xcaret is a private operation, a kind of amusement park for the eco-minded with a big infusion of Mexican culture. Park includes some spectacular coastline as well as lagoons, beaches, cenotes, ruins and underground rivers you navigate in a lifejacket. Aviary, botanical gardens, dolphin enclosure (for a price you can swim with these beautiful creatures), horseback riding, jungle zoo, restaurants, shops, entertainment of all sorts. Round-trip transportation from Cancun provided by tour operators. There is an admission fee.

PAAMUL (92 km)
Paamul, an intimate little cove with a rocky beach, was for years one of Cancun's best kept secrets. Snorkeling is great even close to shore and manatees used to sun themselves on the point. RV hook-ups, and camping allowed. Open-air restaurant.

PUERTO AVENTURAS (98 km)
Puerto Aventuras is an upmarket resort community (hotels and condos) that has co-opted some of the finest beaches on the coast. The sea is clear, calm and perfect for swimming. Deserted stretches easily reached on foot. Great place to 'go native' then walk back to civilization for lunch. All services, including a nautical museum, 9-hole golf course, full-service marina and tennis courts.

XPU-HA (100 km)
Six dirt-road accesses lead to the wilderness beach of Xpu-Ha, its ocean/cavern dive operation and its community of  hotels and restaurants and a few private homes. Superb, unsheltered beach; coral mountains ten minutes from shore. Manatees have been spotted in the sheltered Xpu-Ha Lagoon (north of the beach), this and the huge, 500 meter-long cenote behind the lagoon are sights of rare beauty. Sea turtle nesting on beach (May-Oct).

KANTENAH (102 km)
Kantenah is just down the beach from Xpu-Ha and accessible by road from Highway 307. Kantenah is a curved slip of a bay whose beach is shaded by a grove of coco palms. There's an excellent all-inclusive (Adult Only) with restaurant and pool, but most of Kantenah is beautifully undeveloped (if you walk south). Sea turtle nesting in season (May-Oct).

XAAC (103 km)
Xaac is the hidden cove of legend and myth and only accessible by a boat--which is best hired at Akumal (see below). The site is stunning, the beach perfect and the snorkeling ideal. There's even a small Mayan shrine from the Postclassic period. A must.

AKUMAL and YALKU LAGOON (104 km)
If we don't count those built by the Maya, Akumal is the coastal development with most seniority. The various sections (accessed from separate entrances off the highway) differ slightly one from the other and all are great. The access with the most services--restaurants, dive shops, hotels, boutiques, private homes and the entrance to the Yalku Lagoon is the first you hit driving south from Cancún, called Club Caribe Akumal/Villas Mayas.
Akumal is a safe, upscale haven for the entire family with fantastic scuba diving, snorkeling, turquoise waters and stunning white powder beaches. This secluded community was established in the 1950's by Pablo Bush Romero, a famous Mexican underwater archeologist who searched for Spanish Galleons. Akumal has become a diving and deep sea fishing mecca. The Palancar reef, fringing Akumal's bays and beaches is the second largest in the world and
teems with tropical fish and marine life. Akumal is also considered an eco-tourist destination and is famous for its sea turtle conservation program. The diving off Akumal is choice due to the Palancar barrier reef which runs from Cancun to Belize, making it the second largest reef in the world. Akumal has two main bays, Akumal Bay and Half Moon Bay, both offer snorkeling and dive opportunities. The visibility is great and you will see a wide variety of tropical fish, live coral and sea turtles. Akumal is famous for its sea turtle conservation program. You may plan your trip to coincide with its annual
"turtle watch" when you can observe giant green and loggerhead turtles laying their eggs (May/June) and hatching their young (July/August). If you encounter a nest please report it to the Akumal Ecological Society, and leave it undisturbed. Diving opportunities include the cenotes and caverns of the areas famous fresh
underwater river systems. These underground rivers also connect to the ocean and mix with the salt water forming several beautiful inlets along the coast. One of these is Yal-Ku Lagoon in North Akumal. Yal-Ku is a small version of its more famous neighbor, Xel-Ha, and offers protected snorkeling and is a National Ecological Park. Small admission fee charged to enter Yalku.

AKTUN-CHEN CAVES (105 km, 4 km after Akumal) 

Discovered in the Summer of '98. Just 104 km south of Cancun is something that'll knock the socks off you nature lovers: Aktun-Chen, a section of virgin forest, 400 hectares of it, including 600 meters of a newly discovered cave system. Aktun-Chen, heretofore untouched acreage so deftly prepared for visitors that the hand of man is
hardly visible. The park opened to the public barely four months ago. Landowner Lorenzo Ancona Sosa says he was unaware of the caves' existence until five years ago. Local villagers out hunting ran across them and took Ancona to see for himself. The caves are approximately 5,000,000 years old and, like the entire peninsula, were at one time underwater; fossilized shells embedded in the limestone serve as visible proof. Up to now, the Loltun Caves
in the state of Yucatán have been the only large, above-ground system open to the public. Aktun-Chen changes all that. It took three years to ready the caves for visitors--much of the time spent studying the formations, checking for structural stability and determining the best route to follow. All other preparations-the path, the lights, and the bridge over the tour's crowning element--a stunning clear-water cenote-are so smoothly arranged they intrude not at all on your experience of the caves as a natural phenomenon. And the lighting doesn't come from a string of bulbs nailed to the wall either. It's indirect, cleverly disguised and used to maximum effect; made theatrical by the drama of the formations themselves. Shafts of daylight occasionally pierce the shadows, the result of openings in the system's roof, and 'exits' exist every 100 meters or so-though you don't see them. The bilingual guides are low-key and relaxed, punctuating the tour with real information about the evolution of caves in this part of the world, and the Maya's association with them. Their talk keeps your interest without being overly scientific. Tours (in English and Spanish) have no set times; you show up, you're taken through. Groups are kept to a maximum of 20 persons. There is a small open-air restaurant for refreshments, and a tour on ATVs (all terrain vehicles) is also available through another part of the terrain. The restrooms are fitted with ecological compost toilets, something rarely seen in Mexico. Future plans include bike paths through a forest that is riddled with wildlife and of course, animal watching and birding will be encouraged. Labels for trees, ferns and other plants are on the agenda--a kind of free-form botanical garden-and over the next few years maybe a bungalow or two for birders, naturalists and just plain folks wanting to get away from it all. Spider monkeys and a tejón which are pets of sorts, and allowed to run free much of the time. The owners hope to set up a breeding farm for endangered species, animals that will then be reintroduced into the wild. The region has never been developed beyond some chicle harvesting and low-impact logging, a lot of which took place almost a hundred years ago. This is the Yucatán as the ancient Maya must have seen it. (Admission fee)

XEL-HA (122 km)
Perhaps the most perfect natural harbor Mother Nature ever created, Xel-Ha is a series of sheltered lagoons molded into the coast. Swimmer friendly fish,the best snorkeling on the coast. Footpaths. Food, drink, shops, change rooms, gear and sunbed rentals. The Xel-Ha Ruins or Zona Arqueológica is located on other side of the highway, the entrance just slightly south of the lagoon/aquarium entrance. The on-site cenote is beautiful, and the fact that the ruins have been recently worked on makes a visit especially worthwhile. The Templo de los Pájaros (temple of the
birds) features an unusual mural depicting birds and animals still colored in their original pigments, plus a figure apparently accessorized by the Teotihuacanos, a culture from central Mexico. The influence of both central Mexican cultures and the Classic Maya from the Peten (Guatemala) is evident at Xel-Ha. The site was occupied continuously from late in the Preclassic period (2000 BC to 250 AD) until the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, but most of the structures you see today date from the Postclassic period (1000-1519 AD). The Xel-Ha Lagoon is a privately-run concession where admission is charged every day of the week; the Xel-Ha zona arqueológica is a national park and as such, entrance is free on Sundays and holidays. Ruins are open from 8am-5pm, so is the lagoon.

TULUM (131 km)
Postclassic Tulum is unique: it's fully walled and on the coast and the only ancient Mayan city that is. It was probably a combination military post-supply depot that defended the culture's trade routes which extended from Colombia to the Gulf of México. At least one function of the site's Castillo was to bring mariners safely to shore. Lights placed in its windows reflected on the water pinpointing the only navigable break in the reef. The Temple of the Descending God and the Temple of the Frescos are also interesting, but Tulum´s biggest draw is the location, not the architecture which by Mayan standards is extremely modest. Touring Time: two hours. Services: tourist center w/ all amenities; hotels, B&Bs and bungalows located south along the coast.

COBA (150 km)
Cobá was a major Postclassic force controlling eastern Yucatan while Uxmal was controlling the west. Landlocked Cobá covers 9 sq. mi and used Muyil as its port. The site is only crudely restored, but in its day it was a highly developed metropolis. Coba's attractions are its dense jungle setting (perfect for trekkers) and its several unique features: four lakes, an abundance of sacbeob (official roads), the tallest pyramid in the Yucatán (Nohoch Mul, 12 stories/42 meters) and the presence of stellae (the only Postclassic site to have them). Touring Time: one day minimum Services: various lodging options, restaurants and shops.