Tulum
is an easy half day trip that no Cancun tourist should
miss. Tulum is the ancient Mayan city overlooking the
fabulous blue waters of the Caribbean, with a fantastic
beach, beautiful views and fascinating history. The name
Tulum comes from the Yucatec word for "wall".
It is likely that the city’s original name was something
like Zama or "place of the dawn". Tulum was
built in the Early Classic period (AD250-600) and developed
into an important city in the years AD1200-1530.
Tulum
is quite a small site and unlike Chichen Itza has a beach
for a cooling dip in warm water to ease the heat, a couple
of hours is all that is required at Tulum and it's location
makes it ideal for combining with a half day at one of
the many nearby local attractions. Bilingual guides can
be found at the entrance to the ruins and can be hired
quite cheaply. Tulum is one of the most visited of all
Mayan ruins, and it's also the only major Mayan ruin to
be found along Mexico's Caribbean coastline on the "Riviera
Maya". It would be a shame to miss it.
Full
range of Tulum tour options:
Tulum
is dominated by El Castillo (unfortunately at the time
of writing it is roped off and you cannot go inside) this
is the tallest and most impressive building at Tulum,
a thousand photographers seek to take their shot of a
lifetime here and you can see my attempts here!
However, there are many other buildings that you can explore
more intimately such as the Temple of the descending God.
Tulum is surrounded by three walls and with the ocean
forming the fourth boundary the city was designed to be
defensive. The walls average 18 feet thick and are between
9 and 15 feet high, entrance is via one of the original
five tunnels. Iguanas and butterflies abound and in my
experience this place is never too crowded. Take a seat
and cast your mind back a thousand years to visualize
life in this Mayan stronghold.
Opening hours are from 08:00 to 19:00 hrs during the Summer;
and from 07:00 to 18:00 hrs during the Winter - 7 days
a week.
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