Campeche State
Edzná’s massive complexes, that once covered more than 17 sq km, were built by a highly stratified society that flourished from about 600 BC to the 15th…
Must-see attractions in Campeche State
Calakmul
Quite unlike any other Maya city you'll visit in Yucatán, Calakmul was ‘discovered’ in 1931 by American botanist Cyrus Lundell, and is located deep in the…
Campeche State
The Maya word for ‘canyon’ or ‘moat’ is becán, and indeed a 2km moat snakes its way around this must-visit Maya site. Seven causeways provide access…
Campeche State
A collection of small but significant structures in 74 groupings, Río Bec covers a 100-sq-km area southeast of Xpujil, and is the only place where all…
Museo Arqueológico de Campeche & Fuerte de San Miguel
Campeche
Campeche’s largest colonial fort, facing the Gulf of Mexico some 4km southwest of the city center, is now home to the most important of Maya museums, the…
Reserva de la Biosfera Calakmul
Calakmul
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 magnificent…
Calakmul
Climbing the enormous Estructura II, at the south side of the Gran Plaza, is a must. Each of this pyramid’s sides is 140m long, giving it a footprint of…
Campeche State
Though less excavated than Edzná, Uxmal or Calakmul, Santa Rosa Xtampak is considered to be the largest and most important site in the Chenes region, and…
Campeche State
At sundown every evening some two to three million bats swirl up from the depths of a dry cenote, forming a tornado of fur and wings that's a surreal…
Campeche
A popular path for joggers, cyclists, strolling friends and cooing sweethearts, the malecón, Campeche’s 7km-long waterfront promenade, makes for a breezy…
Campeche State
Aptly named ‘House of the Snake’s Jaws,’ this Maya site is best known for one remarkably well-preserved doorway with a hideous fanged visage. Located 10km…
Campeche State
‘Discovered’ only in 1990, Balamkú boasts a remarkably ornate, stuccoed frieze that bears little resemblance to any of the known decorative elements in…
Campeche State
The buildings of Hormiguero date as far back as AD 50; the city (whose modern name is Spanish for ‘anthill’) flourished during the late Classic period…
Campeche State
Though it only has one significant structure, Dzibilnocac possesses an eerie grandeur that merits a visit. Unlike the many hilltop sites chosen for Chenes…
Campeche State
Some of the most significant caves in the peninsula are found 31km north of Hopelchén, shortly before you reach the town of Bolonchén de Rejón. The local…
Campeche State
The largest lagoon in the Gulf of Mexico area, the Laguna de Términos comprises a network of estuaries, swamps and ponds that together form a uniquely…
Campeche State
About 60km south of Hopelchén, Hochob, ‘the place where corn is harvested,’ is among the most beautiful and terrifying of the Chenes-style sites. The…
Campeche State
The rather remote village of Miguel Colorado, 70km south of Champotón, has two large scenic cenotes (limestone sinkholes) with a spiffy new ecocenter and…
Campeche State
The ruins of Xpuhil are a striking example of the Río Bec style. The three towers (rather than the usual two) of Estructura I rise above a dozen vaulted…
Campeche State
Off Hwy 186, heading southwest from Escárcega, is one of Campeche’s most recently uncovered Maya sites, El Tigre. Archaeologists are almost certain it is…
Calakmul
The Gran Plaza, with its ancient buildings and many stelae, is a good place to begin your Calakmul explorations. Climbing the enormous Estructura II, at…
Campeche State
Tohcok (spelled Tacob on signs) is 3.5km northwest of Hopelchén. Of the 40-odd structures found at this Maya site, the only one that has been…
Museo Arqueológico del Camino Real
Campeche State
This tiny museum, on the north corner of the plaza, doesn't get much traffic. But it should. It contains a small but compelling collection of ceramic art…
Campeche State
Supposedly named after a local landowner from Tabasco, El Tabasqueño boasts a temple-palace (Estructura 1) with a striking monster-mouth doorway, flanked…
Campeche State
A cooperative known as Koolel Kab produces honey with indigenous melipona bees, which take up residence in hollow trees. Using techniques much like those…
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción
Campeche
Dominating Plaza Principal’s east side is the two-towered cathedral. The limestone structure has stood on this spot for more than three centuries and it…
Campeche
Shaded by carob trees and ringed by tiled benches and broad footpaths radiating from a belle-epoque kiosk, Campeche’s appealingly modest central square…
Campeche
The Baluarte de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, designed to protect the Puerta del Mar, contains the fascinating Museo de la Arquitectura Maya. It provides…
Ciudad del Carmen
Playa Norte, on the Gulf of Mexico, is Carmen's beach area. It's rather bleak looking, with wide expanses of coarse sand, murky green water, parking areas…
Ciudad del Carmen
Parque Zaragoza has a handsome 19th-century kiosk and is one of the city's most pleasant areas to hang out. On its north side is the 1856 Santuario de la…
Baluarte de San Francisco & Baluarte de San Juan
Campeche
Once the primary defensive bastion for the adjacent Puerta de la Tierra, the Baluarte de San Francisco houses a pirate exhibition in both English and…
Campeche
During the prerevolutionary era, when this mansion was occupied by an upper-class campechano family, Número 6 was a prestigious plaza address. Wandering…
Calakmul
The palatial Estructura III consists of a dozen rooms atop a raised platform. Archaeologists found a tomb inside the 5th-century structure that contained…
Campeche
Directly behind Iglesia de San Juan de Dios, the Baluarte de San Pedro served a post-piracy defensive function when it repelled a punitive raid from…
Calakmul
Estructura I is Calakmul’s second great pyramid (surpassed by Estructura II). American botanist Cyrus Lundell named the site Calakmul, Maya for ‘two…
Baluarte de Santiago & Jardín Botánico Xmuch Haltún
Campeche
Completed in 1704 – the last of the bulwarks to be built – the Baluarte de Santiago houses the Jardín Botánico Xmuch Haltún, a botanical garden with…
Ex-Templo de San José & Bazar Artesanal
Campeche
Faced with blue-and-yellow tiles, the Ex-Templo de San José is a wonder; note the lighthouse, complete with weather vane, atop the right spire. Built in…
Campeche
On the northern (seaward) side of Plaza Principal stands a replica of the old government center, now housing the modern Biblioteca de Campeche. The…
Ciudad del Carmen
The city's decent history museum is in an interesting old hospital building. Inside are archaeological relics (including stelae from Xpuhil), a petroleum…
Museo de Naturaleza y Arqueología
Calakmul
Calakmul's modern Museo de Naturaleza y Arqueología has geological, archaeological and natural-history exhibits that are well displayed and provide a…
