Ancient Mayan Temple: The Tulum Ruins

Hi everyone, welcome back to another entry in my travel blog. Next up is the town Tulum, which is located on the Caribbean coastline of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. The Mayans built the town in the late thirteenth century, during the post-classic period. It’s the only Mayan city built on the coast, which is super interesting. Tulum is mainly known for its beautiful beaches and historic ruins of an ancient Mayan temple called El Castillo. The main structure sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the vibrant, turquoise ocean. The ruins are not intact because the ocean is wearing down the structures. About 60% of the structures are detached from the main temple. Before the temple is completely gone, I would highly recommend coming to visit. This is truly a must-see spot, especially because the ruins probably won’t be there forever. 

The Ancient Ruins

Exploring the Tulum Ruins was an awesome experience. Scenic views and rich history surround this location, making it a popular tourist spot. These ancient Mayan temples are from over 1200 years ago. They sit on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. In the Mayan language, the name means trench or wall. The Mayans originally called the location Zama, which means the place of the dawning sun. They built the temple to protect the inhabitants. However, only the rich and the affluent Mayans stayed within the walls, the rest had to stay outside in the jungle. The Mayan civilization used it as a trading post because of its proximity to water. 

It’s amazing to see because it’s still standing after 1200 years. It’s crazy to think this temple was built before electricity even existed. The original wall still surrounds the whole temple, which is super cool. We had to walk through the main wall to get into the site. We had to walk about a mile to get to the ruins, and once we got to the gate, we walked throughout the ruins. This is an excellent place for anyone to visit, including families. The temple was very beautiful, and we got to experience it in several different ways. We flew over it, around it, then got to walk through it. 

We had the amazing opportunity to fly over the ruins in an adventurous helicopter ride. The town of Tulum is even more beautiful from above. Being so high up in the sky, we could truly see how clear and blue the ocean was. I have included a few photos below. Pretty incredible, right? The crazy part is, these photos don’t even do it justice. You have to go to Tulum and see it for yourself. This was such a cool experience and I would recommend both seeing the ruins on land and in the sky! 

Should You Go? 

This was a cool excursion and we made amazing memories here. The views from this spot are breathtaking. The crystal blue sea and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocky cliff make you feel completely at peace. I’m so glad we got to visit these Mayan Ruins in Tulum.

Thanks for following along. I am so passionate about traveling and seeing the world, that not even a global pandemic can stop me. There is so much to see and do in this beautiful world. Life’s too short not to take advantage of all this world has to offer. If you would like to know more about me personally, you can read more here. Until next time, Mark signing off!