Yucatan guides

What sits behind each stop on the route: why cenote water looks the way it does, why flamingos are pink, and what an asteroid has to do with any of it.

A tour lands differently when you know what you are looking at. These pages explain what sits behind each stop on our routes: the geology, the wildlife, the culture and the practical things worth knowing before leaving Merida.

They are not sales sheets. For times, prices and what each departure includes, that is the tour catalogue.

Nature and geology

What is a cenoteHow cenotes form, the four types by age and why they were sacred to the Maya. The Chicxulub craterThe impact that wiped out the dinosaurs and how it carved the ring of cenotes. What is a mangroveHow trees survive in salt water, the four mangrove species and why they hold up the coastline. The pink flamingo of YucatanWhy they are pink, why the ones here are the most intense and which months are best. The wildlife of YucatanWhat turns up where, from the coatis of Chichen Itza to the flamingos of the estuary, and what is better left alone. The flora of YucatanThe trees and plants that show up on each route, when they flower and which one is better left alone.

Maya culture

The Maya ball gameHow it was played, what it really meant, and what is known — and not known — about the sacrifices. Kukulkan and the equinoxThe shadow effect running down the stairway, how it works and why the pyramid is a calendar. The Puuc styleHow to recognise the architecture of Uxmal and why its facades are covered in stone mosaic. Maya glossaryWhat the site names mean, how to say them and why so many begin with X. The Magical Towns of YucatanWhat a Pueblo Magico is, which ones the state has and what sets each apart. Henequen and Paseo de MontejoHow a fibre plant built the mansions of Merida and why the industry collapsed. Traditional dress in YucatanHipil, terno, guayabera and jipijapa: what each garment is, when it is worn and what the embroidery says.

Yucatecan food

Yucatecan foodThe dishes worth trying, what goes into each and when they are actually eaten. Cochinita pibilWhat gives it the colour, what a píib is, and why Yucatan eats it in the morning. Sopa de limaWhy the local lime is not a lemon, what goes into the broth and why it is served hot. Panuchos and salbutes: what sets them apartThe difference lies in the strained bean layer. What goes into each, how they are made and when to eat them. The markets of MeridaWhich ones there are, what time to go, what to eat at each and which crafts are worth it.

Before you travel

When to visit YucatanMonth-by-month weather, what each season brings and how to handle the heat, sun and mosquitoes. What to pack for a tourA list by type of trip: cenote, ruins, mangrove or beach. And what to leave behind. Entrance fees and official pricesWhat is paid at the gate on top of the tour, who sets those amounts and why in cash. ContactWhatsApp, phone and a walk-in office in downtown Merida, Monday to Sunday from 7:30 to 21:00. How to find our officeCalle 61 #503, next to the Burger King downtown: five minutes on foot from the cathedral.

Why we publish this

Because half the questions that arrive on WhatsApp are not about prices: they are "is the cenote water cold?", "did the meteorite really land there?", "what is cochinita?". It makes more sense to answer them once, written properly, than to repeat them one at a time.

Everything here is general background on Yucatan. Where something touches what we actually offer — times, prices, what a tour includes — it comes from the catalogue and nowhere else.

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