Valladolid is very well located in the centre of the Yucatan peninsula. It is the perfect place to stay while exploring the area of Yucatan and even Quintana Roo. So what are the best things to do while visiting Valladolid?
Chichén Itzá - one of the new 7 wonders of the world! It is a city which was built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The main Mayan Ruin is
the Chichen Itza Pyramid or El Castillo, but there are other equally important ruins such as El Caracol or Observatory, The Temple of The Warriors and the Mayan Ball Game.
The best thing is to stay in Valladolid so you can get to Chichén Itzá in just a 45 min drive. I would highly recommend arriving there between 8 and 8.15am. If you arrive at 8.30am or later you might struggle to find a parking space, also the queue to buy the tickets could be quite long. It is important to mention that the buses and tours tend to get here around 10 am so best thing to do is to arrive early!
I would advise to get a guide; it is definitely not the same to do the visit without a guide as you will feel like you are just looking at some old rocks. The story behind it, the maths they used to build it and all the interesting facts that the guide will tell you about Mayan culture are key to truly appreciating the site. Our guide was from the company ‘Maya Quest’ and they were recommended by our hotel. Our guide was just fantastic and super knowledgeable, highly recommended! The visit with the guide plus some time to explore on your own will take you between 2 and 2.30 hours.
As of Dec 2023, the prices are as follows: entrance ticket per person 614 pesos. The private guide in Spanish is 1,400 pesos and 1,600 pesos in English.
Uayma – Uayma is a little town near Chichén Itzá which has a very original church and it is nice to stop for a quick look. Uayma is just 20 min driving from Valladolid and 40 min from Chichén Itzá. When we were there, we saw a couple of other buildings in the town being restored that were very cute as well.
Ekbalam – Ekʼ Balam was a city occupied from the Middle Preclassic through the Postclassic. It eventually became the capital of the polity that controlled the region around the beginning of the Common Era. It was during this height that the Late Yumcab ceramic complex (750-1050/1100 CE) dominated the architecture and pottery of Ekʼ Balam. Ekʼ Balam provides a rich resource of information for understanding northern Classic cities, due to the poor preservation of many other notable northern Maya sites (e.g. Coba, Izamal, and Edzna).
You can find this archaeological site just a 30 min drive from Valladolid. It takes around 1 hour to 1.15 to visit the complex. The cool thing about this place is that it is one of the only few places in Mexico which lets you go up to the top of the pyramids which is amazing! Also, this is not a very touristy spot and it was quite empty when we arrived around 10.45am.
As of Dec 2023, the prices are as follows: parking 100 pesos, ticket per person 531 pesos.
Cenotes – first things first… you might be wondering… what is a cenote? A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater. The Yucatan peninsula is full of cenotes and can be quite difficult to choose some but here some tips on how to do this:
The cenotes in the Valladolid area are cheaper to visit and equally pretty to the ones you can find near Tulum.
There are a lot of cenotes near Chichén Itzá but I would avoid these as they are more touristy because people usually go on the day to both Chichén Itzá and the cenotes. However, the ones near Ekbalam are less known.
My top favourites that we went to were Cenote Palomitas and XCANAHALTUN. Note that in the same area of cento Palomitas you can find cenote Agua Dulce, but this one can be booked by private tours so if you want to visit this one as well you should go to that one first early in the morning.
As of Dec 2023, the prices are as follows: Cenote Palomitas 180 pesos and XCANAHALTUN 200 pesos. In both of them we were almost alone and with only 2 more people at times, which was incredible. We arrived at Palomitas around 12pm and to XCANAHALTUN around 2pm.
Coba – Coba is an ancient Maya city which contains many engraved and sculpted stelae that document ceremonial life and important events of the Late Classic Period (AD 600–900). Coba was estimated to have had some 50,000 inhabitants at its peak of civilization, and the built-up area extends over some 80 km2. The site was occupied by a sizable agricultural population by the first century. The bulk of Coba's major construction seems to have been made in the middle and late Classic period, about 500 to 900 AD, with most of the dated hieroglyphic inscriptions from the 7th century. However, Coba remained an important site in the Post-Classic era and new temples were built and old ones kept in repair until at least the 14th century.
Coba is probably my favourite of the archaeological sites of Yucatan/ Quintana Ro. Even though is not as well preserved as others, it is really cool that it is in the middle of the jungle and you have to cycle around to see the different structures. We arrived there around 10.30am and it was not very busy.
As of Dec 2023, the prices are as follows: ticket per person 190 pesos and 65 pesos per bike.
Walk around the city – Valladolid is not a very big city but is nice to have a little stroll around. Places that you can check out are: Iglesia de la Candelaria, Calzada de los Frailes, Convento de San Bernardino de Siena, Templo de San Servacio and Parque Francisco Canton Rosado.
Enjoy the gastronomy – Valladolid is a great place to have some proper Mexican food and there are great restaurants here with very good prices. Some of our favourites are: El Meson del Marques, Atrio del Mayab, Restaurante del Ahal, and for a very casual spot with very tasty tacos; El Habanero taqueria.
Lastly, to end on a high note go to one of the roof terraces around the Parque Francisco Canton Rosado. You can try the roof bar at the Hotel María de la Luz.
Comments