If you love archeological sites and ancient cities. During a Mexico road trip you can visit a long list of Mayan cities, one even more beautiful than the other. For example the beautiful Uxmal, which can easily be combined with the Puuc Route Mexico. Here you will find beautiful Mayan cities, which you can have all to yourself with a bit of luck.
Puuc Route: between Mérida and Campeche
For a Mexico tour the best option is to rent a car. This way you will have plenty of room to stop where you want and make several nice detours. During your ride from Mérida to Campeche there are several beautiful Mayan ruins you can program. The first stop would be Uxmal, one of the most favorite Mayan cities. Chichen Itza may be one of the seven wonders of the world, but Uxmal is even more impressive. The complex has numerous beautiful buildings, with the 39 meter high pyramid Casa del Advino as the eye-catcher. From the Palacio del Gobernador you have a great view over the city and the jungle around it. Also walk on to the impressive El Palomar, in the southwest of the complex. The great thing about Uxmal is that you get a good idea of what the Maya city must have looked like in the past.
Puuc Route Mexico: travel through ancient Mayan cities
Uxmal was an important Mayan city and is built in the Puuc style, characterized by geometric, recurring elements and detailed carving. You often see masks with long noses on the facades of the buildings, which represent Chac, the rain god of the Mayas. Near Uxmal you will find several ‘suburbs’, also all built in Puuc style. From Uxmal you can drive the Puuc Route, passing several of these complexes. While you are on your way to our next overnight stop Campeche.
Kabah: three hundred masks
The first stop Kabah, a 23 kilometer drive from Uxmal and located next to Highway 261. Kabah is not yet officially part of the Puuc Route, but it is a fantastic complex that you should not miss. The highlight is the Palace of the Masks, with more than three hundred masks of Chac in the facade. At the back of the palace you will find some statues of human figures, very rare in Mayan architecture. Partly for that reason, Kabah is one of the favorite Mayan ruins in Mexico.
Driving the Puuc Route
About five kilometers after Kabah you turn to the Puuc Route (Ruta Puuc), which leads over hills and through dense forests. The first ruin is that of Sayil, with the 85 meter wide El Palacio. The temple El Mirador is also worth a visit. The second stop on the Puuc route is Xlapak, with a beautiful palace that is again equipped with many Chac masks. The last stop would be Labná, where three thousand people lived at its peak. This site also has an El Palacio, which is very well preserved. Labná is famous for El Arco, a huge arch connecting two plazas. Beautiful!
Mayan cities Mexico without visitors
We also highly recommend the Puuc Route, partly because the Mayan ruins there are still so little visited. At cities like Kabah there is a huge chance you will see no other tourists. Very nice to take a look at those little-visited complexes at your leisure.
Practical information Puuc Route
- A rental car can make it very easy to visit the temples.
- If you don’t have a car, you can take the Oriente Bus in Mérida on Sundays. It stops at Uxmal, Kabah and the three ruins on the Puuc Route. In Mérida you can also book tours to these Mayan cities.