29.04.2022 | Mexico, Travel

Day trip to the Maya Archeological sites Calakmul & Becán

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For everyone who is disappointed that there is a fence around the famous Chichen Itza Pyramid and that you cannot climb it, this is for you! We want to show you the most beautiful pyramids, that will give you the best experience! Sure, it’s a longer drive to get to these remote pyramids, but while hundreds of tourists visit Chichen Itza in one day, only a few people visit Calakmul. The best thing is, that you can climb these remote Mayan pyramids and you will be surrounded only by the jungle.

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1. EXPLORE THE REMOTE MAYAN ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE CALAKMUL

The ruins of Calakmul cover 2 square kilometers. It really feels like a true Indiana Jones experience, since there are only a dozen visitors. Stories tell, that the city of Calakmul could have been populated with 50.000 people. The area was rediscovered in 1931 by a biologist.

The architecture here is so amazing, the two main pyramids just look like two mountains in the middle of a very flat jungle! Tikal (now Guatemala) fought with Calakmul, Tikal won and took over in 700 AD. Then Calakmul was abandoned and the jungle took over for years.

What’s special about this place?

Oh, this place is so special!! You can actually climb all of the three pyramids and it is an incredible feeling standing on the ruins overlooking the forest while hearing howler monkeys roar below your feet in the jungle.

The first pyramid is the second highest pyramid at Calakmul, reaching a height of 40 meters. Pyramid two was built up a number of times over centuries to reach the final height of 50 meters. It is the highest and largest structure in the Maya world!! They found several royal tombs inside this pyramid! The third pyramid Chiik Nahb Acropolis gives you a great view of the second pyramid.

Climb on top of three pyramids!

Well, the steps are pretty steep, but the effort is so much worth it! We could have stayed hours sitting on top of the biggest pyramid, just listening to the jungle sounds, looking around, wondering how the ancient people could have lived here. It’s rare in these days that pyramids in Mexico are still allowed to climb. There are only a few remote places left, where you can still climb on top of these wonders.

Listen to the Crawler Monkeys

The ruins of Calakmul are located inside the massive Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, encompassing 2,792 square miles of protected jungle. You can find Turkeys, Howler Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, Baird’s Tapir, Tucans, and even Jaguar in this Reserve! Likely you will hear the monkeys roaring in the jungle, they are so loud!

How to get there?

SInce Calakmul is located directly in the jungle, which makes it so unique, you have to be prepared for a longer drive. After the entrance building to the National Park, and after paying 150 MXN per person for the National Park and 80 MXN per person for the ruins (only cash), you have to drive a 60km long small road through the jungle. There are even signs to be careful with pumas, monkeys, tapir and toucans. When you reach the site, you are only 35 kilometers away from the Guatemalan border!

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2. VISIT THE SMALLER SITE BECÀN

If you visit Calakmul on a day trip, you can easily include the pyramids Becán on your way back to Bacalar. While the oldest structures in Becan date to 500 BCE, its walls were constructed somewhere around 100 AD to 250 AD. Today, you can visit 20 of these structures.

Why visit this place?

Becan is a lot smaller than Calakmul, however we’ve been the only ones here at noon and for sunset, which really gives you an incredible feeling. Also you can climb on top of the structures! The tallest pyramid stands at about 30 meters, the view of the surrounding structures is really impressive. Becán was rediscovered in 1934.

How to get there?

If you visit Calakmul in a day trip from Bacalar, like we did, it’s perfect to visit Becán on your way back to Bacalar or Valladolid! From Bacalar it’s about 1.5 hours on the highway. It’s only 60 MXN per person (only cash). There was absolutely nobody when we’ve visited at noon, although we’ve been there in the high season around Christmas (everything is usually more crowded at this time). The view and the sunset was wonderful there!

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3. WHY THESE TWO PYRAMIDS ARE BETTER THAN CHICHEN ITZA

Well, we highly recommend to visit Calakmul and Becán if you have enough time. It’s a completely different feeling than visiting the touristic and very crowded Chichen Itza!! If we had to choose a pyramid because of limited days, we would definitely visit Calakmul and skip Chitchen Itza! Calakmul has all you need! Furthermore you can climb on all three pyramids in Calakmul, whereas in Chichen Itza fences prevent people from climbing the pyramid. For us Chichen Itza lost a little bit of it’s magic, due to the amount of people and the groomed lawn around it.

However, if you have enough time, you should also visit Chichen Itza. There is so much mystery about this place. Many sections have still never been excavated. After the Spanish conquest of the Maya, this powerful city was almost a ghost town. Probably overpopulation may have depleted environmental resources and cities were constantly in war. This place is one of the New 7 Wonders Of The World! However, Calakmul should be, too.

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4. MAYAN TULUM RUINS AT THE BEACHFRONT

We skipped these Mayan ruins located directly at the beach front of Tulum, since we visited the more remote Mayan ruins like Calakmul. But if you only plan to visit Tulum, we highly recommend to visit these ruins. The scenery directly next to the turquoise ocean is really unique. However, be there either as early as possible or in the midday heat, otherwise you will be surrounded by lots of people. The entrance fee is 80 MXN per person.

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5. UXMAL PYRAMIDS

Uxmal pyramids is located in between the two cities Campeche and Mérida in the North-West of the Yucatan peninsula. In the 10th century construction of this thriving city stopped and before the Spanish came, the Maya left. It’s not known when the Maya first settled here or why they left. Probably construction began around the 6th century AD. It was the center for the Maya of the Puuc.

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6. COBA PYRAMIDS NEAR TULUM

This place is only 45 minutes West of Tulum and you can still climb this pyramid! The largest pyramid at Coba is 42 meters tall and was the heart of the city. You can still climb this pyramid. It says that Coba had a population of over 50.000 at its peak. There are a lot of female stelae. The city was first inhabited around 100 AD and was abandoned when the Spanish conquered around 1550 AD.

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7. VISIT LAMANAI IN BELIZE & TIKAL IN GUATEMALA

In normal times (we visited during Corona), it’s very easy to get from Bacalar over the Mexican border to Belize or Guatemala. A lot of tourists discover this triangle of remote Maya architecture: The South of Mexico and the North of Belize and Guatemala. There are several ADO busses passing the borders.

Lamanai Pyramids in Belize

These pyramids are located directly in the jungle and are only reachable by a 1.5 hour boat ride on a river. Lamanai was inhabited for almost 3000 years, a lot longer than most of the Maya cities. Instead of being arranged around central plazas, like the typical Maya pyramids, the temples are built alongside the river in a linear development.

Tikal Pyramids in Guatemala

In it’s time Tikal was a major city of the Mayans with it’s peak in 200-900 AD, the earliest parts of the site date back to the 4th century BC. Afterwards it was entirely abandoned and the Guatemalan jungle took its place over the pyramids. It wasn’t until the mid-19th century that Tikal was fully surveyed.

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