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.