These are the states that make up the Mayan Route in Mexico
These are the states that the classic Mayan Route crosses, as well as information about the countries and possible alternative itineraries.
The story goes that one day a group of tourists was visiting one of the imposing Mayan ruins. One of them, astonished, wondered aloud: "Where did the people who built such wonders go to? And the native who was guiding him answered: "We didn't leave, sir, we are still here".
The anecdote illustrates the arrogance that Europeans often have, thinking that the history of a place did not begin until the whites arrived there. The Mayan civilization was already in decline before the transcendental voyage of Columbus, and the appearance of the Spaniards was the final straw, but the Mayans as an ethnic group survived and have maintained part of their culture to this day.
These heirs of the Maya live in what is now Guatemala, Belize, and part of Mexico, specifically Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula. The Mayan archaeological remains extend through these areas and also include part of western Honduras, where Copan, one of the most important cities of that civilization, is located.
This region is not too large. On a single trip, you can visit the most spectacular ruins. It is the Mayan Route, one of the most interesting journeys that can be made in the world, and not only for the Mayan vestiges of the past; but also for its landscapes, the current indigenous culture, and beaches that put the icing on the vacation.
The typical route of La Ruta Maya is a circle that usually follows, more or less, the following route: Cancun-Chichen Itza-Merida-Uxmal-Ruta Puuc-Palenque-San Cristobal de las Casas-Huehuetenango-Quetzaltenango-Lake Atitlan-Chichicastenango-Antigua-Guatemala City-Copán-Quiriguá-Puerto Barrios-Lívingston-Río Dulce-Flores-Tikal-Belize City-Caye Caulker-Chetumal-Tulúm-Playa del Carmen-Cancun. Of course, you can do it the other way around and start at any of the points, although the most common and convenient are Cancun and Guatemala City.
Therefore, four countries are crossed: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras (Copán), and Belize. In Mexico, you pass through the Yucatan Peninsula, itself divided into three federated states (Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo), and through Chiapas.
To make this trip, three weeks are convenient; better for four weeks to go a little calmer. By proxy, it could be done in two weeks, but spending very little time in each place and taking a shortcut by plane (the most common is from Guatemala City to Flores, which leaves out such interesting places as Lívingston and the Río Dulce). In addition, one of the attractions of this trip is to spend a few days on the beaches of Belize or the Yucatan, so it is advisable to have plenty of time.
The six Mayan jewels are Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Palenque, Tikal, Copan and Tulum. They are easily accessible and, if all of them are included in the trip, a complete vision of the Mayan culture will be achieved, since they correspond to different periods of that civilization. They stand out not only for their buildings but also for their locations: Tikal in the middle of an impenetrable jungle, Tulum on the coast of a turquoise blue sea.
Other Mayan remains of interest, but not essential if you are going to see the six most important ones, are those of the Puuc Route (Kabah, Labná, Sayil), Bonampak, Yaxchilán, and Cobá in Mexico; Quiriguá, Ceiba! and Uaxactún in Guatemala; and Xunantunich and Altun Ha in Belize.
When stating that ruin is of more or less interest, it is from the point of view of the traveler; of course, an archaeologist may see it differently. In the region covered by the Mayan Route, there are more than seven hundred sites where remains have been discovered, and it is believed that there may be many more. In most of them, covered by the jungle, much archaeological work remains to be done, only a minimum part has been brought to the light of day.
