DK Travel : Cancún and the Yucatán : Places of interest

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Ek-Balam

In 1998 excavations revealed some of the finest examples of Mayan sculpture at these ruins, on the giant temple-mound known as the Acropolis. Most spectacular is El Trono (The Throne), a temple entrance believed to be the tomb of Ukit-Kan-Lek-Tok, a powerful ruler around AD 800. Nearby is an intricate mass of finely carved figures. The rest of the Acropolis is a multi-level palace.

Ek-Balam
El Cuyo

With just one hotel, two sets of beach cabañas , and a couple of places to eat – with great fresh fish – this Gulf-coast fishing village is for anyone who really does want a beach all to themselves.
Hacienda Hotels

A seductive escape is offered (at upscale prices) by the hotels scattered around the Yucatán in beautifully converted old Colonial haciendas (country estates). All have luxurious rooms surrounded by tropical gardens, with superb pools and fine restaurants (see Haciendas and Hip Hotels).
Holbox

This tiny island sits off the north coast of Yucatán, by a wide lagoon full of birds and wild dolphins. On it there’s one village with sand streets, a few hotels, pelicans, a huge beach, and an ultra-relaxed, friendly atmosphere. It’s wonderful for fishing, clearing the head, and exploring uninhabited islands nearby.
Holbox

If the Riviera seems just too busy, take a long drive north from the Cancún–Mérida road to the tiny port of Chiquilá. Hop on a ferry to cross the beautiful lagoon (where dolphins are common) to reach the island of Holbox. Here you’ll find the simple pleasures of a friendly village, a long, empty beach, and some very mellow places to stay.
Isla Contoy

Mexico’s most important sea-bird reserve covers the whole of this uninhabited island. The terrain is a mix of mangroves, beaches, and coral lagoons that are home to over 50 species of birds – they contain turtle breeding grounds too. Day tours are offered by dive shops on Isla Mujeres.
Isla Mujeres

Although it’s only a short ferry ride away from Cancún, this 8-km (5-mile) long island, the first place where Spaniards landed in Mexico in 1517, has a very different atmosphere, with few big hotels, one small town, a good choice of cheap places to stay, and a very easy-going, unhurried beach-village feel. Isla is also a great diving, snorkeling, and fishing center, with an exciting range of reefs offshore.
Izamal

Known as La Ciudad Dorada, the Golden City, because of the ocher wash of its buildings, this is the most complete and unchanging of Yucatán colonial towns. At its heart is the largest of the Yucatán’s Franciscan monasteries (see Maní Monastery), and a short distance from this are the glowering pyramids of a much older Mayan city. Horse-drawn carriages, victorias , are a favorite way of getting around.
Izamal

The most unaltered Spanish colonial city in the Yucatán, known as the ciudad dorada or “Golden City” because of the color of its buildings, is centered on the huge monastery of San Antonio, begun in 1549 as the headquarters of the Franciscan friars in Yucatán and the shrine of Our Lady of Izamal, the region’s patron. A short walk away are the remains of three pyramids, traces of a much older Mayan city (see also Izamal, San Antonio de Padua, Izamal).
Kabah

This site was the second most important of the Puuc Cities after Uxmal, and an imposing arch on its west side marks the start of the sacbé road (see Cozumel and the South) that linked it to its larger ally. Its Codz Poop or “Palace of Masks” is the most extravagant example of Mayan carving: the extraordinary façade is covered with 250 faces of the long-nosed rain-god Chac. The Palacio and Temple of the Columns are other classics of refined Puuc architecture.