Welcome to Calakmul

The most remote of all the Maya ruins, Calakmul is also one worth making the effort to get to. Simply put, it's a magnificent experience, made even better by its history as a leading city from around AD 250. Many buildings survive, giving an evocative sense of a powerful place.

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But visiting Calakmul is not just a historical experience, it's also an ecological one. Lying at the heart of the vast, untrammeled Reserva de la Biosfera Calakmul (which covers close to 15% of the state’s total territory), the ruins are surrounded by rain forest and seemingly endless canopy of vegetation. You might glimpse ocellated turkeys, parrots, toucans and more – around 350 bird species reside or fly through here. You'll no doubt see or hear spider and howler monkeys, too, but you're much less likely to spot a jaguar – one of five kinds of wildcat in the area.

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Top experiences in Calakmul

Travel guides

Starting at $38.99

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Calakmul activities

$83 Cultural & Theme Tours

Full-Day Tour to Calakmul Ruins And Reserve from Palenque

Your tour begins with hotel pickup in Palenque. You'll board a vehicle and start a 5-hour drive to Calakmul. Once there, you'll enjoy a 3.5-hour visit. Admire the wonderful flora and fauna surrounding the archaeological zone and maybe spot endemic birds or deer. You'll have a chance to climb the Great Pyramid and, from there, get a 360-degree view of the entire area. Learn about the importance of this site and how it served the Maya civilization during the Classic period. There are more than 6,500 structures here and the site has already been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. You will then have time to eat lunch and then board a vehicle back to Palenque City where you will be dropped-off at your hotel.
$575 Cultural & Theme Tours

Maya Classic 5 days TULUM BACALAR CHETUMAL CALACMUL PALENQUE GULF OF MEXICO CAMPECHE UXMAL MERIDA CHICHEN ITZA IK KIL from Cancun

Day 1.  Tulum - Laguna Bacalar - Chetumal Breakfast. Departure to the most beautiful Mayan city of the Caribbean coast. Just in Tulum you get the most beautiful photos of all your vacation. Then you will explore the stunning beauty of lake Bacalar, which is called "seven-colored lake" because it combined in various color tones, from turquoise to blue. Here is the Blue cenote (natural water body that is fed by underground rivers) where you can swim in the crystal clear water. In the evening you'll arrive to Chetumal, accommodation in hotel 4* Day 2.  Calakmul - Palenque Morning, after Breakfast, visit of Calakmul — one of the largest Maya settlements of the classic period. Calakmul is located 35 km from the border of Guatemala. The ruins surrounded by a network of canals and reservoirs. Departure to the city of Palenque (Chiapas). In the evening arrival in Palenque, check-in hotel 4*. Free time for relaxing or exploring the city. Day 3  Palenque - Gulf Of Mexico - Campeche The ruins of Palenque are among the most important Mayan archaeological sites in Mexico. The ancient city is situated among high jungle-covered hills, the ruins in the early morning shrouded in thick fog, near a small stream is running, you can often hear the roar of the Jaguar or the howler monkey. The combination of nature and ancient ruins gives to this place a special energy.  After the tour transfer to the city of Campeche. You will walk through narrow colonial streets, look at these walls withstood numerous pirate attacks. Accommodation in hotel 4* Day 4. Campeche – Uxmal – Merida Breakfast. In the morning you will travel to magnificent Uxmal, about which numerous legends. So, say that the pyramid is the temple of the Magician was built in just one night, but in the city still live forest guards called "alushi". The Palace of the Governor, the House of Turtles, Dove court, convent — all that you see here, in the unique Uxmal. Later, you will enter the world of the Spanish aristocrats and visit the ancient Hacienda. Moving to Merida. Accommodation in hotel 4* . Evening promenade of the colonial city. Day 5. Merida - Chichen Itza – Cenote IK Kil – Tequila Factory- Cancun/Riviera MayaBreakfast. Departure to the center of the Yucatan Peninsula and explore the main attractions of Chichen Itza. This ancient city is one of the New Seven Wonders of the world and is recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Next, you will swim in crystal clear cenote where you can experience the healing properties of groundwater. The culmination of the tour will be visiting of tequila faсtory where you can see the tequila production process and taste this wonderful drink. Moving to Cancun/Mayan Riviera.
$614 Multi-day & Extended Tours

Maya Classic 5 days TULUM BACALAR CHETUMAL CALACMUL PALENQUE GULF OF MEXICO CAMPECHE UXMAL MERIDA CHICHEN ITZA IK KIL from Tulum

Day 1.  Tulum - Laguna Bacalar - Chetumal Breakfast. Departure to the most beautiful Mayan city of the Caribbean coast. Just in Tulum you get the most beautiful photos of all your vacation. Then you will explore the stunning beauty of lake Bacalar, which is called "seven-colored lake" because it combined in various color tones, from turquoise to blue. Here is the Blue cenote (natural water body that is fed by underground rivers) where you can swim in the crystal clear water. In the evening you'll arrive to Chetumal, accommodation in hotel 4* Day 2.  Calakmul - Palenque Morning, after Breakfast, visit of Calakmul — one of the largest Maya settlements of the classic period. Calakmul is located 35 km from the border of Guatemala. The ruins surrounded by a network of canals and reservoirs. Departure to the city of Palenque (Chiapas). In the evening arrival in Palenque, check-in hotel 4*. Free time for relaxing or exploring the city. Day 3  Palenque - Gulf Of Mexico - Campeche The ruins of Palenque are among the most important Mayan archaeological sites in Mexico. The ancient city is situated among high jungle-covered hills, the ruins in the early morning shrouded in thick fog, near a small stream is running, you can often hear the roar of the Jaguar or the howler monkey. The combination of nature and ancient ruins gives to this place a special energy.  After the tour transfer to the city of Campeche. You will walk through narrow colonial streets, look at these walls withstood numerous pirate attacks. Accommodation in hotel 4* Day 4. Campeche – Uxmal – Merida Breakfast. In the morning you will travel to magnificent Uxmal, about which numerous legends. So, say that the pyramid is the temple of the Magician was built in just one night, but in the city still live forest guards called "alushi". The Palace of the Governor, the House of Turtles, Dove court, convent — all that you see here, in the unique Uxmal. Later, you will enter the world of the Spanish aristocrats and visit the ancient Hacienda. Moving to Merida. Accommodation in hotel 4* . Evening promenade of the colonial city. Day 5. Merida - Chichen Itza – Cenote IK Kil – Tequila Factory- Cancun/Riviera MayaBreakfast. Departure to the center of the Yucatan Peninsula and explore the main attractions of Chichen Itza. This ancient city is one of the New Seven Wonders of the world and is recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO. Next, you will swim in crystal clear cenote where you can experience the healing properties of groundwater. The culmination of the tour will be visiting of tequila faсtory where you can see the tequila production process and taste this wonderful drink. Moving to Cancun/Mayan Riviera.
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