By bus
Buses from Cancun run quite regularly.
Buses from Playa Del Carmen run hourly or so. Bus station is at southern end of Fifth Avenue near Playacar. ADO Bus stops at Xcaret and Xel-ha enroute to Tulum. Mayab bus stops more frequently enroute to Tulum from Playa Del Carmen.
To visit the ruins, get off the bus at the first Tulum stop at the intersection with the access road to the ruins. It's an easy one mile or so flat walk to the ruins from the intersection.
An alternative to the buses is to catch a "collectivo" van. In Playa Del Carmen you can find these on Calle 2 towards Avenida 20.
By car
If you drive yourself to the ruins before opening time, it may be a bit confusing as to where to go and what to do. As soon as you park, a man on a bicycle should find you and charge you for parking (30 pesos). You must go through a sort of half open-air mall (which is empty before 8am). From there you can either sign up with a tour guide (US$20 per person?), pay for a shuttle ride to the ruins (20 pesos), or walk a mile along a road to the ruins. The guides are reported to be better story tellers than actual experts on Mayan culture. The walk is on level ground and passes quickly as you admire the jungle and abandoned shops along the way. If you can walk it, do it and save a few bucks! As you approach a stone wall, to the left will be a brown wooden building where you can purchase your ticket into the ruins (45 pesos, an additional 35 pesos if they see that you have a video camera). From there, head along a stone path through the jungle and into the ruins...
Three Tulums
What most folks really need to know, and only manage to figure out once there, is the fact that there are really THREE different areas all refered to as TULUM only minutes away from eachother, not close enough though to walk to and from.
Tulum Pueblo sits split by highway 307 running South-North. "El Pueblo", as referred to by locals, is home to most workers of the tourist industry and where many of the stores, supermarkets, two bus stations, inns, hostels and small hotels are found. This section of town has a definite feel of existing mostly to cater to the Tulum ruins. Tulum peublo is indeed a destinatin for shopping, great restaurants, night life, booking tours, banking, shopping for food, local vegetables, fruits, cafes, and local flavor. Do not miss it !.
Tulum Playa nests along the coastline highway that leads into the Sian-Kahn Ecological Reserve, the Caribbean white sandy beaches to the east, an impressive mangrove & wetland reserve to the south. Tulum Playa embraces many of the fancier, ecological, boutique and spa hotels, and it has a decent to excellent selection of restaurants and night spots. There are also a number of affordable beach front cabana-type lodging locations. Walk the beach and simpy step in and inquire about accomodations and rates. You will be surprised and delighted.
Tulum Ruinas is the archeological site where the Maya ruins of Tulum stand. It is conformed by a-mile-long road leading into the ruins from highway 307. The road is flanked by several restaurants, a commercial area geared to one-day visitors, a huge parking lot, a small bus station that operates part-time and a handful of middle range hotels.
Organized tours are also available from a variety of companies, including Tours Aldebaran
Archeology
Tulum is mostly known for its ruins, which strike an impressive image next to the sea, but were constructed during a time period of Maya culture that was waning. The site is notable for a small cenote (albeit dry during Jan 2007), beautiful beach below the ruin laden cliffs and some well preserved stellae in only one of its structures. After visiting other ruins in the area such as Coba, Chichen Itza and Ek Balam, Tulum's main claim is the sea-side setting. It is best visited on a clear, bright day or at sunrise. Bring your swimming suit. At the time of writing, one of the best sections was closed to visitors and covered with plastic bottles and other refuse.
A standard to telephoto zoom lens does well if you must photograph during times of peak tourism. This strategy will keep people out of your shots of the ruins. Tripods are allowed only with a permit that is exclusively available in Mexico City for a $500 fee. A monopod may be a possibility.
Get around
See
Do
Cenotes
In much of the Yucatan, rainwater collects in a system of underground caves and tunnels. Where these tunnels reach the surface is known as a cenote (pronounced seh-NOH-teh). Cenotes usually allow swimming and diving, and rent related equipment. They are fresh water and are often quite cold.
Study Spanish
If staying for more than just a couple of days, you may want to experience taking some Spanish Lessons at the beach or almost anywhere.
Buy
Markets catering mainly to the bus loads of tourists are situated on the road leading to the entrance of the archaeological site.
Sleep
Budget
Get out
Tulum (sometimes called Tuluum) is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Cobá. The ruins are located on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. One of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites, it is today a popular site for tourists.
Tulum Ruins
The Maya site may have been formerly also known by the name Zama, or the city of Dawn. Tulum is also the Mayan word for fence,trench or wall and the walls surrounding the site allowed Tulum fort to serve as a defense against an invasion. From the numerous depictions in murals and other works around the site, Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Descending God.
While an inscription dated 564 has been found at the site, most of the structures now visible were built in the Post-Classic Era, between about 1200 and 1450. The city remained occupied through the early years of the Spanish conquest of Yucatán, but was abandoned in by the end of the 16th century. Local Maya continued to visit the temples to burn incense and pray until the late 20th century, when tourists visiting the site became too numerous.
A number of the buildings have fresco murals on the interior (small remaining traces of paint suggest that the exterior of some buildings may have been similarly decorated). The murals show Mixtec influence.
The city was first mentioned by Juan Diez, part of Juan de Grijalva's expedition of 1518. The first detailed description of the ruins was published by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in 1843 in the book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. The site is of moderate size, with construction of modest sized buildings.
Tourism
The archaeological site is relatively compact (compared with many other Maya sites in the vicinity), and is one of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites. Its proximity to the modern tourism developments along the Mexican Caribbean coastline (the so-called "Riviera Maya," surrounding Cancún) has made it a popular destination for tourists. Daily tour buses bring a constant stream of visitors to the site. The Tulum ruins are the third most visited archaeological site in Mexico, after Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza. It is popular for the picturesque view of the Caribbean and a location just 120 km south of the popular beach resort of Cancún.
The tourist destination is now divided into three main areas: the archaeological site, the pueblo or town, and the "hotel zone," or strip of beach lined with small cabanas.
Tulum Pueblo
Several years ago, Tulum Pueblo was a quiet village 2 km from the archaeological site, and tourism outside of the ruins was limited to a few small shops and simple cabanas on the beach. As of 2005 population of Tulum Pueblo has grown to over 10,000 permanent inhabitants. The "hotel zone" of boutique hotels on the Tulum beach has grown to over 40 small hotels, most of them cabanas built in the traditional Mayan style with thatched palm roofs. The hotel zone is mostly filled with tourists whereas Tulum Pueblo is mostly a Mexican town, with some tourists eating in the restaurants and bars at night. Inexpensive cabanas with hammocks are also available.
See also
References
Vogel, Susana (1995). Guide of Tulum, History, Art and Monuments. Ediciones Monclem. ISBN 968-6434-29-1
External links
