While I was in Mexico last week, I had the chance to visit Tulum. Tulum is an ancient Mayan city located right on the beach. In fact, a popular thing to do here after working up a sweat from walking around is to go swimming in the ocean. There’s nothing like swimming in the shadow of some ruins, right?
Tulum was a thriving capital and trading city until the Spanish came and destroyed it in 1518. After that, the city was abandoned and left to the jungle. Now, it’s one of the most popular and largest Mayan ruins in Mexico. It’s incredibly beautiful, especially given its location near the ocean. This is one of those places where my words could never do it justice, so I’ll let my pictures talk for me:
The Observatory
The Observatory and a beautiful backdrop
The Cenote House
El Castillo
The beach where everyone goes swimming
Imagine this as your view. The Mayans had great beachfront property!
A protected area for turtle nesting
For more information on travel to Mexico and the Mayan Riviera, plan your trip using my guide.
Note: My trip to Mexico was sponsored by Riviera Maya tourism.
James Cook
Great photos! Its incredible to think how much those ancient civilizations accomplished without modern tools!
Annie
They didn’t need tools. They had slaves.
michelle
“They” had both and “we” shouldn’t be throwing stones in our enormous glass house.
Michelle
Breathtaking!
Simon
Unless you’re a complete ruin buff, a variation in backdrop very quickly becomes important if you are to maintain interest in visiting different sites. I went to Tulum in 1992, early on during my first proper trip in Latin America, and it remains a vivid memory. These pics explain why but you really do have to be there to appreciate! Definitely worth a visit if in the vicinity.
Bret Love
Great pics, Matt! If you ever get a chance, I HIGHLY recommend exploring the ruins at Coba, in the Riviera Maya. The backdrop isn’t as beautiful, but the ruins are far more extensive than Tikal and are still in the process of being excavated. Because the area is still surrounded by the native vegetation, exploring it feels a little like an Indiana Jones expedition (without all the guns, poison darts and massive boulders trying to crush you before you getaway with a priceless artifact).
NomadicMatt
I got to Coba too! I climbed the big ruin there and almost freaked out. I hate heights and it took me about 2 hours to go up and down the temple as I crawled up and went butt first down.
crys
yesssss I loved Tulum, but was amazed at Coba!! Right in the jungle, shaded, interact with more locals, taxi (cart service) around the ruins if you get tired and more intact ruins only downfall is that it didn’t have the amazing beach of Tulum
Abhijit
Beautiful pics Matt! The place looks just special! 🙂
Ashley Lenzen
These pictures are beautiful, Matt! Thanks for sharing. We never made it to Tulum when we were in Mexico… I almost wish we had now.
NomadicMatt
All more reason to go back.
Chris
That beach looks amazing! I would kill to not be at work right about now :-p
NomadicMatt
That would be me!
Mode Dresden
Oh, how much I enjoyed Tulum. Arriving there from Isla Mujeres, I had an awesome time there. Slept in one of the hammocks, got killed by mosquitos, yet still loved it.
Gloria
The Mayan ruins in Tulum were some of our favorites of all of Central America – not as spectacular as Palenque or Tikal in Guatemala, but the setting by these bright turquoise Caribbean waters is just stunning. Like you say – the Mayans did well finding the perfect ‘beach front property’ 😉
Marc
I visited to Tulum while on a cruise about 5 years ago. It’s a beautiful place view a great view of the ocean. We had a great tour guide who was of Mayan descent so he took a lot of pride in the history and he did a great job of sharing that with us.
aaron
The beach at Tulum is amazing however I think Chichen Itza and Palaenque offer far more comprehensive examples of Mayan history. They’re lacking a crystal clear beach with fresh cocktails though..
Amber
The scenery at Tulum is beautiful and it is a great archaeological site. However Chichen Itza is spectacular and definitely a wonder of the world.
Noel Cancun
Beautiful pictures of Tulum Matt! I believe Tulum is one of the most beautiful places, but it is more about the view than the archaeological site itself!
Jyo
Nice pics. Did you go to other ruins in that area like Muyil as well?
NomadicMatt
Hey everyone! Due to the age of this post and the difficulty in moderating lots of posts spam, comments here have been turned off. If you would like to continue the discussion, head over to the forums at http://forums.nomadicmatt.com and chat there! I post frequently and reply to threads on the boards! See ya there! Thanks! – Matt