MERIDA ATTRACTIONS

Placio Canton on Paseo de Montejo

The plaza is also the place to pick up a horse and carriage, which can take you sightseeing around the city.

ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES NEAR MERIDA

Uxmal Mayan Ruins

This ancient Mayan city is one of the more important in the area. It boasts a mixture of rounded architecture and intricate facades. You are able to climb some of the pyramids, which have incredible views over the site.

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Dzibilchaltún is an interesting archeological site, with its Temple of Seven Dolls, named after the dolls found there, which have been removed to the onsite museum. Many of the temples were also destroyed in such a way that visitors can see inside them to understand how they were built.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World, Chichen Itzá is probably Mexico’s most famous archaeological site. It is a popular site that has some of the most well restored structures of the Maya world.

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ATTRACTIONS NEARBY

Pink famingos at the Celestun National Wildlife Refuge

Celestun is a small fishing village that is home to a biosphere reserve that spans over 146,000 acres. Inland waterways provide a natural habitat for flamingoes, herons and other tropical birds. If you are lucky you may see a flock of flamingos flying over you, which is quite an experience.

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An old working henequen hacienda, Hacienda Sotuta de Peon offers tours of the house, the plantations and the production plants. The tour gives visitors a great insight into the work of the haciendas and ends in a dip in the onsite cenote.

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The Komchen Bird Sanctuary is a private non-profit organization created at Hacienda Henequenera. This sanctuary provides facilities for the practice of ecotourism. Its mission is “to sustainably develop and conserve a nature reserve and at the same time improve the living conditions of local people”.

To learn more visit: Komchen Bird Sanctuary

Rio Lagartos, which means Alligator River, is a 100,000-acre biosphere reserve that offers some of the best bird watching in the Yucatan.  It boasts a diversity of habitats for a variety of animals including flamingoes, howler monkeys, crocodiles, turtles, jaguars, pheasants and white tail deer.

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Named a magic town in 2002, the whole town is painted yellow and white and centers around the 16^th– century Franciscan monastery that sits upon the base of the Maya pyramid that was probably the biggest in the Northern Yucatec plains.

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Take a horse drawn cart along a track that stops at three cenotes that differ in size and depth. The color of the water varies in each cenote due to the amount of light that reaches the sinkhole. These cenotes are generally slightly quieter than other better-known cenotes.

Valladolid is a small, quaint town that still preserves a colonial flavor. Cenote Dzitnup just south of the city is great for swimming and the San Roque Museum has huge murals depicting Mexican history. It is also worth taking a stroll down the pretty Calzada de los Frailes.

This colorful port city that is surrounded by a fortress is an interesting and picturesque place to visit. Learn about the history of pirate attack and admire the colonial architecture or take a visit to the archeological site of Edzná just outside the city.

Ik Kil is a popular cenote near to Chichen Itzá. It is best to visit in the morning before the crowds arrive.

To learn more visit: Cenote Ik Kil

GOLF

This 18 hole, par 72 golf course and country club is just outside of the center of Merida. The club also has a pool, steam baths, weight-room, mini golf, tennis courts, shops and restaurants, making it a great places for families  to spend the day.

Find out more about the club: Club de Golf de Yucatan (all in Spanish)

TOURS AVAILABLE FROM MERIDA