Get DK Top Ten Travel Guides on your iPhone & iPod Touch!
Nowhere is the flavour of the Yucatán more intense than in the west, around its historic capital, Mérida. In these parts, there is an extraordinary density of Mayan relics, and although they may not match the awesome power of Chichén Itzá, sites such as Uxmal show the architecture of the Maya at its most elegant. Beyond the main sights are stretches of wilderness, hidden lagoons, and small towns dripping with bougainvillea and hibiscus.
Warrior statue,Ticul
Church,Ticul
-
Morning
Leave Mérida early in a rental car. Beyond the suburb of Umán, where you turn onto Highway 261, traffic thins out, and you’ll have an easy drive through woods and a few placid villages.
Stop at Yaxcopoíl for a quick tour of the hacienda, a remarkable vision of early 20th-century aristocratic life in the Yucatán. Beyond Muna the road enters the Puuc Hills, before dropping down again to Uxmal . Devote at least two hours to this site, keeping an eye out for iguanas as well as the architecture.
Recoup your energies by heading back up the road a little to the Restaurante Hal-Tun , for sopa de lima on the roadside terrace.
Afternoon
Head straight for Kabah to marvel at the monsters of the Codz Poop.
Further south, the “Puuc Route” turns off the main Highway 261 onto a lovely woodland road, with only a few other tourists, combis, tricycle carts, and the birds for company. Along the way are stop-offs at the Puuc sites of Sayil,Xlapak , and Labná. At the end of the road, descend into the netherworld of Loltún, refreshing yourself afterward in its café.
Go down to Oxcutzcab, and turn left for Ticul . Dine on poc-chuc at Los Almendros and take a stroll around the plaza to soak up some Yucatán country life before you drive back to Mérida.
-
On one side of the square of this remarkable little town is an 18th-century church, while on another is a very ancient Mayan pyramid, perhaps begun around 300 BC.
-
One of old Mérida’s loveliest patios houses this relaxing restaurant, which has a half-vegetarian menu, including several dishes made with the special Yucatecan vegetable chaya.
-
Ticul produces huge quantities of ceramics. This family-run store stands out for the owners’ skills and careful use of traditional and even ancient Mayan techniques.
-
This place is a big, loud, and boisterous, very Mexican bar-dance hall, with all kinds of Mexican music, from modern pop to mariachi and rancheras, recorded and live.
-
This semi-official handicrafts market is packed with stalls selling every kind of Yucatecan and Mexican craft work, some of it excellent, some rather tatty.
-
The best of the ever-popular terrace restaurants on Parque Hidalgo. If the bustle of the square gets too much you can sit inside in the hotel’s pretty patio.
-
A Spanish colonial walled city that retains a charming, old-world feel. The 17th-century ramparts and bastions were built to defend it against pirates. The streets within are lined with delicately colored old houses featuring patios and iron-grilled windows. A museum, housed in an old Spanish fort, contains jade funeral masks and other fine relics from the recently excavated site at Calakmul.
-
Campeche’s state handicrafts store has ceramics, embroidery, basketwork, and many other top quality items that are beautifully displayed.
-
The Yucatán state handicrafts store has high-quality local work, with many beautiful, usable things especially in textiles, basketware, and wood.
-
Restaurant price categories
For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and extra charges.
-
Advertisement
-
-
Berlin guide
skrams
-
London guide
pukank
-
Merry in Madrid
travel
-
-
New York festivities
travel
-
Christmas in Vienna
travel
-
Washington, D.C. guide
michae
-
Venice Guide
BillZi
-
![[+]](/images/button-addtoguide.gif)
symbol, to start adding attractions to your
tailor-made travel guide.
