Mexico Travel Guide

Chichén Itzá is the most celebrated Maya city, in Mexico's Yucatán, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988 and one of the 'New Seven Wonders of the World' (2007). Its centerpiece, the Pyramid of Kukulcán (El Castillo), encodes astronomy and calendar: at the equinoxes, stairway shadows trace a descending feathered serpent. The site also holds the Great Ball Court, the El Caracol observatory and sacred cenotes. For history and architecture lovers, it is the essential gateway to Mesoamerican civilisation.

The National Museum of Anthropology, in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park and opened in 1964, is the country's most-visited museum and the premier house of Mesoamerican collections. Its signature central courtyard holds the rain-powered 'Parasol' (umbrella fountain); galleries are organised by culture—the Aztec Sun Stone (Piedra del Sol), Maya artefacts from Palenque, Olmec colossal heads and feathered-serpent motifs—tracing the arc from Olmec to pre-Conquest. For travellers seeking one stop to understand ancient Mexico, it is unmissable.

The Pyramid of the Sun is the of Teotihuacan, built around the 2nd century AD, about 65 m tall and among the largest earthen pyramids of the Americas. Standing on the east side of the Avenue of the Dead, facing its lunar counterpart, its top commands the whole planned lost city. Its builders remain unknown—adding mystery to its scale.

Tulum Archaeological Site is Mexico's most photogenic Maya ruin on the Caribbean coast. This Postclassic Maya city (c. 13th-15th century) on a 12 m limestone cliff above the blue Caribbean, with El Castillo, Temple of the Wind God and Temple of the Paintings, plus swimming on the blue beach below, is the only seaside Maya ruin and one of the Yucatán's most popular archaeological sites. Tulum (Yucatec Maya for "wall") was a Postclassic (c. 13th-15th century) city — contemporaneous with Chichén Itzá, one of the few Maya cities still inhabited at the conquest. The site sits on a 12 m limestone cliff, walled on three sides, facing the blue Caribbean. El Castillo on the highest point is Tulum's iconic structure — a blue beach below allows swimming. Temple of the Wind God at the north end overlooks Tulum Beach. Temple of the Paintings retains Maya murals inside. Iguanas are common. Visiting to experience the only seaside Maya ruin and the blue Caribbean from a cliff-top city is a must-do archaeological and beach experience in Mexico.

Plaza de Armas — also called Plaza de la Independencia — is the heart of Querétaro's World Heritage historic centre and its oldest public space. Colonial arcades, the former city hall and stately mansions frame a calm, perfectly proportioned square, with a central fountain honouring the Marqués de la Villa del Águila, builder of the city's famous aqueduct. Beneath tall laurel trees, cafés and open-air tables fill at dusk, offering the best seat in town for the unhurried rhythm of a Mexican highland city.

Cenote Ik Kil lies in a jungle clearing about 3 kilometres east of Chichén Itzá, a perfectly round open sinkhole 60 metres across and some 48 metres deep, with the water surface 26 metres below the rim. Vines and tree roots cascade down the walls like a curtain toward the cool turquoise water. The Maya made offerings here to the rain god Chaac—archaeologists have recovered bones and jade from the depths. Swimming is open to the public, life jackets are mandatory, and sunscreen is banned in the water. Arrive at opening time to beat the tour buses, and bring a waterproof camera.