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Sightseeing: Timeless Allure

By Jane Ammeson

These days it’s known for spectacular sun-splashed beaches, luxurious resorts and trendy boutiques. But the essence of the Riviera Maya’s eternal appeal is rooted in the spectacular natural settings that drew its first residents here thousands of years ago.

One of the best places to experience the region’s harmonious blend of modern luxury and exquisite natural charms is at Xcaret, an eco-park located just south of Playa del Carmen. Xcaret’s commitment to preserving the region’s wildlife adds depth to its crowd-pleasing eco-adventures, like swimming with the dolphins, floating along underground rivers or snorkeling in pristine waters.

“Xcaret obtained the first Guinness World Record given for a reproduction program for endangered species,” explains Claudia Perez Cornelio, a media executive for Experiencias Xcaret, as we walk along a rocky path among a plethora of birds. “In 2009 we had the largest number of macaws—95 scarlet macaws and 10 green ones—born in a single location in a year.”

The park’s population of these brightly colored macaws, so upfront and personal (no cages or glass between visitors and the macaws who keep busy preening at the clicking of many cameras,) currently stands at 772 because of the 18-year-old program.



Xcaret, which was built on the site of Pole, a Mayan seaport that was located just a few miles south of present-day Playa del Carmen, also reveres other aspects of the Yucatan way of life. Step into the 19th century at the park’s gracious Hacienda Henequenera, a re-creation of a hemp plantation, with its red-tiled roof, sheltered courtyard, old railroad cars, rope-making equipment and vast cathedral. Watch artisans spin, weave and tool leather at the Mayan village perched above a rocky channel where the underground river rises to the surface.

Gain insights into the region’s history through free shows like Fiesta Charra, in which cowboys and girls wearing colonial-era garb perform elaborate equestrian feats, or Voladores de Papantla. The latter recreates a Mayan cultural practice in which four men swirl atop a 100-foot pole. This centuries-old ritual honoring the sun god was listed in 2009 on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Another can’t-miss experience at Xcaret is the elaborately staged México Espectacular: 300-plus performers create a riveting showcase of Mexican folkloric music and dance.   

While Xcaret’s re-creations are impressive, they can’t replace the real thing. See for yourself at the Cobá, a 2,000 year-old Mayan ruined city. Many of its 6,500 stone buildings remain hidden by jungle, but the ones you can explore are spectacular. For example, there’s Nohoch Mul, which at 138-feet high is the tallest pyramid on the Yucatan Pensinsula. The steep stairs aren’t that difficult to climb and getting to the top delivers a stunning view of the rest of Cobá and Lake Macanxoc. While visiting the site, you may want to immerse yourself into ancient Mayan pottery traditions by taking a ceramics class. And be sure to stop just outside of Cobá’s gates to buy marquesitas, which are pastries stuffed with cajeta (goat's milk caramel) and rolled into an ice cream cone shape, a special Yucatan treat.


While Cobá displays relics from the Mayan past, the nearby village of Pac Chen gives visitors a glimpse into contemporary Mayan life. Here, villagers have a few modern conveniences but mostly their lifestyle is similar to that of Mayans from centuries before. Visitors can enjoy a traditional Mayan feast of pibil (pork cooked underground) and freshly made gorditas—puffs of dough filled with squash and then fried in a palapa-covered kitchen. Paddle across the lagoon in hopes of seeing the monkeys that sleep in caves on the other side of the water, take a guided tour along the jungle path, swim in the deep cavernous recesses of a cool cenote, fly across the jungle canopy on a zip-line, buy a jar of the locally made honey or doze in one of the hammocks overlooking the water.