Riviera Maya About

Welcome to the Riviera Maya

At the Riviera Maya you will find beautiful beaches looking out onto the Caribbean Sea, whichare ideal places to relax or do all kinds of water sports: snorkeling, windsurfing and even kitesurfing, a new and exhilarating extreme sport that combines surfing and parasailing. For those who like scuba diving, there are boats departing from the docks which offer exciting outings to the Great Mayan Reef, the second largest coral reef (system) in the world. There you can dive at depths of more than 10 meters (33 feet) among multicolored fish and coral that has existed for more than 500 years. Near Playa del Carmen you can discover Playa Paamul and Playa Paraiso, two beautiful beaches with calm waters and gorgeous ecological parks: Xcaret and Xel-Ha. Also nearby are numerous sinkholes where you can do rappelling and cave diving while exploring the amazing depths of underground river systems.

Playa del Carmen

The largest town on the Riviera Maya, with approximately 20,000 inhabitants, Playa del Carmen still conserves the atmosphere of a small fishing village. Until a few years ago, it was best known as the departure point for the ferry to Cozumel island. People soon discovered the long stretches of beautiful solitary beaches, the calm turquoise sea protected from strong currents by Cozumel, and an array of diverse lifestyles. It did not take long for Playa, as it usually called, to become one of the most popular destinations south of Cancun. Many visitors hace remained and settled down here, creating an international comspolitan town where one is just likely to encounter Mexicans as Europeans and North and South Americans, most of them young and enterprising. The conglomeration of nationalities has contributed both to the gastronomy and the general appearance of Playa.

Tulum

Tulum's greatest attraction is its location. It sands on a bluff facing the rising sun, commanding views of the Caribbean that are nothing less than spectacular. In Maya, Tulum means "wall". It is a walled city and one of the very few ancients ever bulit. The plaza at the center of the city, probably once used for rituals or ceremonies. The Castillo es the largest building bluff, commanding a view of miles in both directories. The mentioned bluff, commanidng a view of miles in both directions. The Temple of the Descending God is another interesting structure. On the facade is a figure esculped head down, and the wall inside show traces of the original pigments applied by the Maya. The earliest date found in Tulum came from a stela in the inner sanctum -564 A.D.