Selected on the seventh day of the seventh of the year two thousand seven as one of the new marvels of the modern world, a cause of great pride to all the inhabitants of the region….

The Maya city of Chichén Itzá represents the most well preserved and impressive ruins of the Maya civilization remaining in the modern world.  It holds the best restored record of the form of spiritual and domestic life and agriculture of the ancient Mayas.  Their culture has had a great influence on many areas of architecture, art and astronomy in our modern world.  The Mayas were famous for their advanced knowledge of the stars.  Today in the Yucatan Peninsula and the State of Chiapas, the Maya culture continues to exist with between four and six million people speaking approximately 30 dialects, and who preserve their ethnic traditions.  Many spiritual aspects of Maya life and the purpose of their ancient cities remain alive today with offerings and pilgrimages to modern churches, occasionally merging Catholicism with their ancient Maya beliefs.  We know that Chichen Itza was abandoned in the X Century.  This evidence recurs, since all Maya cities were abandoned around the same period, although the reason remains unexplained.  The Mayas returned and re-settled the area around the year 1000 A.D., as seen by the two architectural trends found in Chichen Itza -- traditional Maya architecture, and more recently the influence of Toltec architecture.  The Toltecs were a war-like people that invaded Chichen Itza around the year 800 A.D.; their rituals included human sacrifice.

Uxmal, in Maya "Thrice Built", is located 78 km. southwest of Merida, just past the Puuc range that crosses the southwest.  According to researchers the first inhabitants of Uxmal arrived in 800 A.C.  There is a possibility that a great number of the buildings remaining today belong to that period; however this has not been proven by excavations.  The principal activity of the inhabitants of Uxmal was agriculture, as seen by the construction of "chultunes" (cisterns) found here which were used to store rainwater.  Based on this economy the city grew to become a powerful political center in the zone.  The House of the Wizard, or the Dwarf, which owes its name to the well known Maya legend of the Dwarf of Uxmal, is one of the largest and tallest  buildings.

This city, the "Place of writing on flat rocks", is indubitably one of the most amazing urban centers of the mysterious Maya civilization.  Located just 22 kms. from the City of Merida, this archaeological zone guards an incredible number of stone constructions such as “The Palace” and the “Temple of the Pedestal”.  Also found here is the “House of the 7 Dolls”, site of a beautiful solar spectacle which occurs during the autumn and spring equinoxes, projecting the mask of the Rain God, Chaac, one of the most important deities of the rich Maya cosmogony .  The beautiful X’Lacah cenote is irresistible for a quick dip, surrounded by a variety of plants and animals, many of them unique to this area.

Mayapán, located 47 kms. southeast of Merida,  was the most important center of the Maya civilization during the period prior to the arrival of the Spanish (1250-1450 A.D.)   Like all Maya archaeological sites, the 4 km2 site holds a central plaza which was the site of the main buildings.  This city was built in a form very similar to Chichen Itza, during a period when the different Maya provinces were at war, at that time in decadence.  One noteworthy characteristic is that the central buildings are surrounded by a wall, a clear indication of the unstable situation in the area.  Due to the number of buildings concentrated here and other details, the population of  the city is estimated to have been around 12,000 people.  According to legends Mayapan was founded by Kukulkan who ruled for some time, and whose principal rulers later formed a joint government.  Native tales indicate that Mayapan together with Chichen Itza and Uxmal formed a political alliance known as the Mayapan League.  The most notable construction is the Castle of Kukulkan, which is identical to the Castle at Chichén Itzá.

This name has been translated as “Lord of the Strong or Powerful Hand”.  This city has long formed part of the Maya conscience, even after the Spanish conquest, and is mentioned in the ancient texts known as the Chilam Balam de Chumayel.  As a result the site is assumed to have been similar in importance to Uxmal.  The city was distinguished by a long occupation due to its strategic location and the quality of the worked stones used to decorate and add meaning to its constructions.  A small residential complex with a central temple marks the entrance to the city.  From here, the concentration of buildings increases to end in the great Arch at the entrance to the monumental area.

Continuing along the Puuc Route we reach the Caves of Loltun.  The name comes from the Maya words “Lol”, or flower, and “Tun”, or stone (Place where the Rock Flowered).  These are the largest known caves in the system of caverns that are distributed throughout the south of Yucatan, and are located just 7 kilometers southwest of Oxkutzcab and 24 km. northeast of the ruins of Labna.   The area has been worked on to prepare a safe passage for visitors, extending approximately 1000 meters inside the caves.  Evidence of human settlement dating back 400 to 7000 years has been found in the caves, principally in the form of ceramic remains.  Another point of interest are the cave paintings, with handprints appearing like a negative on one wall, and other more elaborate cave paintings representing faces, animals and decorations.  Other chambers contain decorations and inscriptions.  Nearby is an abyss about 20 m. deep filled with enormous boulders, probably caused by the caving in of the roofs of other chambers, even further belowground.

The Hall of Inscriptions, amazingly beautiful, contains a section over 100 m. long with stalactites and a large number of paintings of hands and people, as well as petroglyphs carved in the form of flowers, for which the caves are named.