Posted April 16, 2018 by travelaroundthegalaxy1 Comment riviera maya

Mayan Ruins of Tulum

Exploring the ruins of Tulum is a can’t miss experience on the Riviera Maya. The ancient walled city sits on some of the most pristine real estate in Mexico, overlooking the Caribbean Sea. It is one of the most picturesque places in the world. The lush green vegetation and crystal blue waters form the perfect backdrop, contrasting against the grey concrete of the ruins. It is absolutely beautiful.

It is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico, behind Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan in Mexico City. It is easily accessible for thousands of tourists who visit this part of Mexico, and there are always busses of tourists arriving every hour. You really want to visit this place first thing in the morning, because even at this time it is difficult to avoid the crowds. With that being said, it is totally worth it.

There are many great Mayan Ruins scattered around Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and into Northern Honduras and Nicaragua, but none of them have the same view as the ruins in Tulum.

The city is distinct amongst the Mayan cities, as it had a strong defensive wall to ward off any attacks. In fact, the name Tulum is most likely a translation of the Mayan word for wall. The cities actual name was likely to have been “the city of dawn”, which makes sense because the city faced the sunrise every morning. It was an important coastal city for trading, connected to nearby cities such as Coba and Muyil.

We have both been to the ruins of Tulum, but never together. This photo set is a little “throwback” to our two visits, in 2012 and 2014 respectively. We have plans to head back for a visit in the next couple months – hopefully, this time we can get some video footage – but we have just recently moved to Cozumel so we will be focusing our efforts on becoming experts of the island. Stay tuned for our San Gervasio pictures (The Mayan ruins on Cozumel) and much much more!