1-day Itinerary to Discover Mayan Secrets in Tulum & Coba

While the Chichen Itza is a landmark of the mysterious Mayan civilization, I had a great time exploring Tulum and Coba, another two Mayan ruins in Yucatan, Mexico, on the same day.

It would be great to enjoy the freedom of visiting these ancient wonders on your own pace, but I learned a lot from the knowledgeable tour guide, who gave insightful and informative commentaries about the history and development of the disappeared Mayan culture; and it gave me a better idea of how to appreciate the architectural techniques that the ancient people used to create such monumental structures thousands of years ago.

Tulum

“Tulum” means walls built with rocks and stones; Originally the place was named “Zama”, meaning “Dawn”. It was named Tulum since the 1920s. The archaeological site was an ancient Mayan city located on a cliff facing east toward beautiful turquoise water of the Caribbean Sea (look at the photos, it still is!). It was the place where the first ray of rising sun hit, and because of that, it is one of the most scenically beautiful of all the Mayan ruins.

Tulum was thriving during the years between 1000 to 1600 and it was the place for the elites. It was a port trading community in a privileged location, and where political, religious rituals, arts, and astronomical events took place. Imagine Tulum was built as an ancient country club: the city covers quite a large ground by the sea, and everything was brilliantly laid out with a great wall surrounded. Houses, mansions, altar, towers, and temples remained today to show the world how much thoughts and intelligence the Mayan people had put into the design.

It was a magnificent afternoon in December. The reflection of the sunlight from the Caribbean Sea is the perfect backdrop of the stone towers by the cliff, the view just blew me away. Tourists could have a dip in the water if you like! Remember to bring your own towels and swimming gear.

There are a number of interesting structures in the sites. The Castillo is now acting as an observatory deck although it was a fortress with small windows on the stone wall that offers excellent lookout for intruders in the past. The Temple of the Descending God is the focal point of Tulum. It was named because of the niche located at the top of the door where a sculpture of a winged figure falling from heaven. I was amazed by the splendid of the carvings on the wall which are unique and important messages from the Ancient Mayan people. Imagine how it was even more beautiful 500 years ago when the temple was decorated inside and out with mural paintings.

Bring towels and swim gear if planning to go into the water. In the Tulum ruins, it’s only a beach with no bathrooms or any beach facilities. There are many beach resorts in the south of the archaeological site. The ruin is an open area with no shades. Bring sunblock on a sunny day as well!

Coba

Coba is another ancient Mayan city 44km northwest of Tulum. Chichen Itza is more famous to most people yet Coba is actually bigger; there are five lakes in Coba with a population of 100,000 during its prime. The site is a Nexus of the largest network of stone causeways of the ancient Mayan world, and it contains historical evidence of the Late Classic Period of Mesoamerican civilization. Unlike Tulum, the site is remained around two lagoons and buried in the Yucatan jungle. The ancient structures are scattered in the woods and connected by branches of plaster roads. It is an important archaeological site that is very different from Tulum – wandering in the overgrown jungle, trees, and vines, I enjoyed very much the serenity and quietness.

An exciting activity in Coba was that tourists could rent a bike and make their way from the Coba Pyramid to the Nohoch Mul Pyramid (and by now I think I did write a LOT of posts about biking around!). There are three ways to go to the Nohoch Mul Pyramid: rent a bike, go on foot, or hire a tricycle driver. It takes only about 20 minutes on foot (and 5 minutes of riding a bike) to reach Nohoch Mul Pyramid and tourists would stop by several “checkpoints” on the way. It was such fun cycling in wooden paths, but yet there was another highlight for the day.

Don’t miss out on the Nohoch Mul Pyramid! It’s a 42-meters tall pyramid (the tallest in Yucatan) and unlike Chichen Itza and many other ruins in Yucatan, tourists could climb it. ? The Mayans were somehow a vicious group of people and they communicate with god with human sacrifice. Ancient people worship god crawling their way up. Mostly because in their belief, the higher they reached, the closer they were with god. Today we crawl up the pyramid for the spectacular view…. Yet once I got up there I heard everyone around me whispering “oh… my… god…”.

Today, back home, every time looking at those photos, I am still touched and amazed by that moment.