Valladolid- Affectionately referred to as the “Sultana of the East” by Yucatecans, Valladolid, the state’s second largest city, is steeped in history.
The Maya were first drawn here by the huge cenote (sinkhole) and called the site Zaci. In 1543, Francisco de Montejo the Younger and his followers overran Zaci, destroyed the temples and founded their own city. During the Colonial period, Valladolid was the commercial center of the eastern Yucatán and was dominated by a few Spanish families. The Maya were enslaved and forbidden to enter the city.
By the mid-19th century, years of brutal treatment and exploitation had brought the area to boiling point and in 1847, the Caste War exploded in Tepich, to the south of Valladolid. It was only a matter of time before the Mayan rebels raided the city and when they did so it was with such fury that the citizens who survived the initial attack were forced to beat a retreat to Mérida.

Strolling the tranquil central square, it is hard to imagine that Valladolid had such a turbulent past, yet many of the oldest buildings were destroyed during the conflict. The San Bernardino Church and the adjoining Sisal Convent (1552-1588) and the 17th-century San Servasio Cathedral are its most important monuments and the lovely old houses in the streets surrounding the square have been restored to their former splendor. The small San Roque Museum features displays on city history, including La Chispa, a 1910 uprising against social injustice that sparked the Mexican Revolution.

Valladolid is an excellent place to stop for lunch and the colonial courtyard restaurant at El Mesón del Marqués overlooking the square offers Yucatecan cuisine and a lovely ambiance. There are a number of craft shops in the city center and you can bargain for hammocks and hipiles (embroidered white dresses) in the park and at the local market.
Getting there: Valladolid is 40 kilometers to the east of Chichen Itza ruins, take Highway 180 or join the toll road at Piste.

Cenote Dzitnup- The beautiful Dzitnup cenote, also known as Xkeken, is one of the Yucatan’s most famous natural wonders and graces many a postcard. It is reached by some winding and slippery stone steps which lead into a cavern filled with a large pool of warm blue water. Above, light comes through a hole in the roof, although the sun only directly shines into the subterranean chamber a few times a year. There are several interesting stalactites and stalagmite formations. Swimming is permitted.
Getting there: Cenote Dzitnup is seven kilometers from Valladolid, travelling west along Highway 180 en route to Mérida and then by means of a peaceful country lane.

Ek Balam-Hidden in a small patch of forest surrounded by the henequen fields and cattle ranches of the northern Yucatan, the ancient Mayan city of Ek Balam (“black jaguar or star jaguar” in Maya) is still being excavated by a team of Mexican archaeologists and is proving just as fascinating as its larger neighbor and rival, Chichen Itza Ruins.
The city flourished between A.D. 250-1200 and is an enigma. Its ceremonial heart is walled and its buildings show a variety of architectural styles and artistic elements including hieroglyphic inscriptions, friezes and the gaping jaws of the earth monster carved in stone. Its crowning glory is the façade on the upper level of the Acropolis, which features the magnificent stucco figure of an ancient lord thought to be the first ruler of the city and founder of a powerful dynasty. Local inhabitants call the statue el angel because it appears to have wings, although experts point out that the noble is actually wearing a headdress of feathers and plumes.
To date, 16 buildings have been restored at Ek Balam and offerings of pottery and copal incense have been found.
Getting there: Ek Balam is 20 minutes to the north of Valladolid via Highway 295.

In Search of Flamingos- Nature lovers should make a beeline for Ría Lagartos, a biosphere reserve on the northern coast of the Yucatán, which is famous for its 30,000-strong breeding colony of flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber). There are so many of these gawky pink birds feeding in the lagoons, taking to the sky or coming into land that they turn the horizon pink. Flamingos feed on tiny crustaceans they filter from the mud moving their beaks from side to side in a sweeping motion. Biologists believe that the striking hot pink plumage of the Yucatán flamingos is due to a diet of shrimp found in area lagoons. Yet the mangroves, marshes and jungles of the reserve harbor around 300 other species of bird, including osprey, ibis, boat-billed and blue heron and the reddish egret, not to mention the horseshoe crab, a creature that dates back to the Cambrian period, crocodiles, monkeys and the water-loving jaguar.

Fishermen from the waterfront village of Río Lagartos, trained as eco-guides by the Mérida branch of the Pronatura conservation organization, run boat trips along the estuary to see the birds. The two-hour-long cruise (longer trips are available on request) is an unforgettable experience and, to top it, the fresh seafood available in Río Lagartos and the nearby village of San Felipe is not to be missed.

While you’ll spot a variety of birds throughout the day, the best time to see them is at sunrise and at sunset and to visit Ría Lagartos is during the winter months when the reserve also welcomes countless species of migratory waterfowl from the United States and Canada.
Getting there: Take Highway 180 or the toll road from Piste to Valladolid, 40 kilometers from Chichen Itza ruins. Then follow Highway 295 north from Valladolid to the coast, via Tizimín.

Ever wanted to visit a city of gold? Discover Izamal, Yucatán’s very own pueblo mágico, literally “magical community,” a title it earned as a result of its rich heritage. Accessible from Chichén Itzá or Valladolid (take the turn off on Highway 180 or the toll road), Izamal is a blend of pre-Hispanic and Spanish architecture painted in bright yellow with a white trim, and the traditions of the Yucatán. Five Mayan pyramids on the outskirts of the town have also given it the nickname Ciudad de Cerros, “City of the Hills.”.

The earliest traces of human occupation in the Izamal area date back to the third century B.C., making the site older than Uxmal and Chichén Itzá, the latter a city to which Izamal was both an ally and an enemy at different times during its history. Over 20 major Mayan buildings have been found in and around Izamal, along with a network of sacbes or roads, house mounds, burials and other traces of human settlement. Standing 35 meters high, the largest structure is the Kinich Kakmo pyramid, the third largest building in Mesoamerica in terms of volume.

Early Spanish churches were often built on the site of Mayan temples and the huge convent that dominates the town is a potent symbol of this policy. As the birthplace of the legendary Zamná or Itzamná, the head god in the Mayan pantheon, Izamal was an important shrine in the pre-Hispanic period and the Spaniards took this into account, transforming it into a major Franciscan mission. Stones from the Pap-Hol-Chac pyramid were used to build the San Antonio de Padua Convent, which was completed in 1618 and has the second largest atrium in the world, after St. Peter’s in Rome.

As you stroll through the convent, look out for the golden altarpiece, a series of 16th and 17th-century frescos, revealed when a thick layer of plaster was removed during restoration work and the statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, the patron saint of the Yucatán. A small museum documents the history of the convent, the legends associated with the Virgin and the 1993 visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Izamal. It is possible to visit the chapel, the cloisters and see some of the cells. To the east of the convent you can see the remains of the noria or well and the monastery garden.

A Light & Sound Show takes place in the convent atrium on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
There are two festivals commemorating Our Lady of Izamal, the Assumption, August 15 and, most importantly, the Immaculate Conception, December 8. The whole town turns out for mass, processions, a traditional fair and vaquería (folk dances and music).

Most of the houses, arches, churches, schools and other buildings including the 18th-century Town Hall, which faces the Convent across the central square, sport the Izamal colors. You can explore the town by foot or hire one of the horse-drawn carriages or victorias that wait patiently beside the convent wall.

Visit the tiny Community Museum in Calle 31, the colonial churches of San Ildefonso, Los Remedios, Carmen and Santa Cruz and sit in one of the town’s parks or squares and watch the Izamaleños go about their business.

Izamal is a town of craftsmen and several workshops in different neighborhoods are open to the public. You can watch women embroider traditional cotton dresses called hipiles, see how wood carvers and jewelers use native woods, henequen and cocoyol seeds, and find out how a hammock is made. There are also miniatures, papier mache, tinwork and herbal medicine workshops. Ask about the Folk Art Route in the Tourism Office. You can purchase crafts in the town square and at the Hecho a Mano handicraft store.

Getting there: Izamal is 68 kilomteres west of Chichen Itza, take Highway 180 or the Cancun-Merida toll road to Kantunil, you’ll see the turn-off for Izamal clearly marked

Unlock more of the secrets of the past by visiting Mayapan, the last capital of the Maya on the Yucatán Peninsula. Located 30 miles south of Mérida, this site was founded around A.D. 1250 during the post-Classic period of Mayan civilization and abandoned in 1450. Several of Mayapan’s most important buildings show certain similarities to those at Chichén Itzá, leading archaeologists to speculate that it was settled by Maya from Chichén, which was abandoned around 1250.

While you are in the area, visit the village of Cuzama where you can board horse-drawn wagons known locally as “trucks” (trucks operate on rails and were used on haciendas during the golden age of henequen production) for a journey that takes you to three cenotes or sinkholes.

Getting there: Mayapan is 162 kilometers from Chichen Itza and 49 kilometers from Merida along Highway 18.