I will try to give you an overview of the main Mayan City ruins, starting from Palenque (which technically is Chiapas, not Yucatan).

Palenque is well known for its well-preserved palaces and architectonical details, and it is a very crowded site. I strongly suggest to visit it right at the opening time around 8am or 9am, most of the tourists will start to flow in around 11am, besides an extreme heat that will make the visit not so pleasant.

After the visit (which could take 2-3 hours), don’t miss the museum, where some amazing art pieces are conserved, which is 10 minutes walking from the entrance.

Palenque Mexico Enrico Pescantini 3

Palenque

The main attraction is Pakal’s Sarcophagus lid, one of the more amazing archeological findings of Mayan World.

Pakal’s Sarcophagus lid

After Palenque, we wanted to visit Calakmul, one of the most remote mayan sites, hidden in the jungle. We were able to find an organized day trip from and back to Palenque, the only one existing, that you can find here . You will leave at 5am and come back at 9pm, but Calakmul is one of the best ones, and you can’t miss it.

Calakmul Aerial view by drone

Bring 3 liters of water per person: there are no shops on the site, the humidity and temperature are very strong! Besides, it is one of the few site where you can climb up and down the structures, which is amazing…but also very very intese!

No other ruins is surrounded by jungle like Calakmul, which makes it very unique!

The endless jungle surrounding it is a national reserve, and you see green until the horizon.

After the jungle, let’s see the only mayan ruins on the sea, at Tulum! This site is quite small, but on the bright side has also a wonderful beach where you can rest after your visit. Best seen from a boat, as you can see in the shot below.

Tulum archeological site ruins from the sea

From Tulum we move to one of the seven wonders of the world, the world-famous site of Chichen Itza, here see from the sky:

Mayan Age of Empires – Chichen Itza by drone

Chichen Itza by drone

The site is very, very crowded, so I strongly recommend to visit at the opening time. El Castillo or Temple of Kukulcan is the main attraction, and its fame is well deserved.

Chichen Itza Yucatan Mexico

Chichen Itza Yucatan Mexico

The scary sculptures of skulls and human sacrifices are actually not mayan, but Toltecs.

Before our last Mayan site, let’s dip in some Cenotes! We tried to find the less known one, in order to experience them (almost) alone. First one is Cenote LOL-HA, half an hour driving from Chichen Itza. It is in the middle of nothing, and you get in from a very tall and scary iron ladder. But you will be alone.

Cenote LOL-HA

Another one, famous to locals, is Yokdzonot Cenote, which has also a very nice local restaurant.

Yokdzonot Cenote Yucatan Mexico

Cenote Chihuán is more a cave-cenote, quite small, but since it is on the road to Merida, worth it to pay a visit.

Cenote Chihuán Yucatan Mexico

Cenote Kankirixche is south of Merida, and again a cave-type one. Quite nice and big, but very, very popular among locals, so quite crowded.

Cenote Kankirixche Yucatan Mexico

Cenote Kankirixche Yucatan Mexico 2

But the best ones are the Cuzama Cenotes, also called the three cenotes of Cuzama. If you get there around 9am, you will probably be the only one to visit them. After you park the car, you will get into this chariots on rails, pulled by horses, which will take you straight in the jungle. Quite an experience!

We were completely alone here, and this has been probably one of the best experience I had in the world. Words, and neither images can describe diving in this blue water underground. The first one is the biggest:

Three Cuzama Cenotes

Three Cuzama Cenotes

Second one is like a huge cave:

Three Cuzama Cenotes

The last one is literally a hole in the ground, where you can crawl in and visit this underground cave.

Our last ruin is Uxmal: if you are thinking to give up on archeological sites, since you’ve already seen a bunch of them, don’t do it! Uxmal has the best preserved sculptures of all of them, and it not crowded like the others.

Uxmal Yucatan

Uxmal Yucatan Mexico

Uxmal Yucatan Mexico

Uxmal Yucatan Mexico

Uxmal Yucatan Mexico

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Las Coloradas is a very small fisherman village which has in the surroundings these beautiful pink lakes, just next the ocean. Plus, they are home of pink flamingos. It is truly a pink world there.

Las Coloradas

It can be easily arranged as a day trip, we did it with our rental car after we landed in Cancun Airport, consider yourself around 3.5 – 4 hours of driving from the airport. Especially in the last hour, the landscape it is truly amazing.

Once you get to the thin stretch of land that arrives to the town, you’ll find yourself beach and ocean on the left side and the lagoons on the right side, which you cannot see until you get to the entrance of town.

Don’t stop at the many local boys that tries to sell you boat tours, you can do everything by yourself.

Just before the entrance of the town, get on the right side, and you will find many cars parked around: just get off and start walking around. You can see below easily the place to park:

Las Coloradas

Remember that it is forbidden to enter in the water, despite what you might read around: when we were there nobody was even touching the water.

Allow yourself around one hour to walk around, and explore the banks that are dividing the lakes, and you will easily spot pink flamingos around.

It is a paradise for any photographer, even if you have to consider that time of the day and intensity of light may change how much pink it can get.

Las Coloradas

I have to admit that from the sky, the landscape it is even better, and it allows you to create true art composition, like the following ones:

Aerial View by drone

Aerial View by drone

Aerial View by drone

I recommend you to do a lunch stopover in this town restaurant called Restaurant Las Gaviotas: it may seems not so good, but I had an amazing lobster at little more than 12 euros (15 USD), so don’t miss it!

Allow yourself around 3.5 – 4 hours to get back to Valladolid or Chichen Itza to continue your trip. If you are looking for an Hacienda to sleep in Yucatan, read my post on Hacienda Yaxcopoil!

Enjoy again the pink lagoons through this aerial film:

The post Aerial view by drone of Pink Lagoons of Las Coloradas, in Yucatan, Mexico! appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.

[prisna-google-website-translator] Haciendas were rural estates of the Spanish colonies, and they could be farms, factories or mines, or all of them altogether.

Some of them were up and running until the last century, and there are a lot of them in Mexico, especially in Yucatan: few of them have been converted in super luxury hotels and resorts, especially around Merida, with average price per night of minimum 300 or 400 USD.

After a lot of pre-travel research I found a true gem, that preserves the historical feeling of the place and it is at the same time affordable: Hacienda Yaxcopoil.

Hacienda Yaxcopoil Mexico

It is dated back to 17th century, and at that time it was one of the biggest estates of Yucatan and it was active until 1984, which is kind of impressive.

Hacienda Yaxcopoil Mexico

It is located between Merida and Uxmal, and you can both do a guided tour or spend the night, like we did. You actually have the possibility to sleep inside the Hacienda, and share the whole estate just with the old tenants, which will attend to your room, dinner and breakfast.

Yes, you will have a whole hacienda just for yourself, where you can walk around, relax, take photos completely in solitude. Needless to say, one of the best experience of Mexico!

The room is simple, but huge and in colonial style, which we loved, and you have a small patio where you can have your dinner (a true homecooked mexican dinner) and breakfast.

Hacienda Yaxcopoil Mexico – room for sleepover

Hacienda Yaxcopoil Mexico outside the room

After 5pm the guided tours stop, so you can wander around the property.

I personally love to spend the night in historical buildings, like for example these caravanserrai along the Silk Way in Iran.

Price for 1 night including breakfast and dinner has been 150USD, which considering the place, is more than fair! To book simply write an email on their website.

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The second chapter of my video project Life UnderWater has been shot here: best seen in 4k, full screen.

The post Life UnderWater II – Tulum, Mexico appeared first on Enrico Pescantini Travel Photographer.