Mexico Attractions Coba

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Continuing south along the Caribbean coast on Highway 307, it is only 25 miles to Akumal. Another sea and sand resort, Akumal is more secluded and more rustic, just the place for dedicated hunters and fishermen. And for archaeology buffs, this is the base for trips to Tulum and Coba.

Tulum, 17 miles from Akumall is a different type of Maya ruin. Once one of the fortress cities that were strung along the Caribbean coast, Tulum was among the last bulwarks of the Maya culture, constructed and in use from the Ilth century until just before the Spanish Conquest. Long stretches of the wall that once enclosed Tulum on its three land sides are still standing. The center itself was laid out on an urban plan closely resembling that of most U. S. cities straight streets bordered by buildings, rather than the groupings around plazas favored in most Maya cities. In the Temple of the Frescoes there are still traces of mural paintings. The main building, El Castillo, looks out over the cliffs protecting the sea approach.

From the village of Tulum (there is a gas station here), a new paved road goes north 25 miles to the ruins of Coba. This immense site is now being explored jointly by Mexican archaeologists and the U. S. National Geographic Society. Coba, founded around 600 A.D., must have been a very important Maya center because it is at the hub of a network of sacbes those wide, level Maya thoroughfares that carried traders and pilgrims from town to town. From Coba they led west to Chichen Itza, south to Tulum, and north and east to other Maya centers.