While many travellers love Cancun and the Riviera Maya for the beaches and deep blue sea, one cannot forget about the joys of going inland to the state of Yucatan for a day or two of history, jungle and relaxation.  The Mayaland Hotel provides all of these things and so much more.

Located on the site of the famous Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, the Mayaland Hotel was built in the 1920’s to accommodate the archaeologists who were beginning to come to the area.  The hotel is still managed by the original family who built it.  With its simple charms and elegance it is as much a part of history as the ruins themselves.

Set on 40 hectares of jungle land, the hotel is comprised of the main building with 55 rooms and bungalows in traditional Mayan style spread throughout the magnificent grounds.  “The Lodge at Chichen Itza“, is a group of cozy villas in the gardens adjacent to the main Mayaland Hotel.  The hotel has an extensive history of celebrity guests, including Pavarotti for whom one of the buildings has been named.  Last year Placido Domingo graced Mayaland with his presence when he performed his grand concert at Chichen Itza.

The grounds of the Mayaland Hotel are nothing short of gorgeous.  Towering palm trees, flowering bougainvillea, almond, mango, lemon, “jicara”, and many other fruit trees are found lining the paths.  The hotel uses the fruit in its restaurants, the homemade mango ice cream is a must and you’ll taste the freshest lemonade ever!  Peacocks strut around the pool and restaurants and between the birdsong and the whispering breeze through the trees, your stress will melt away.

Set in a mystic and magical place, the hotel has its own tales of mystery.  The mischievous “alux” (pronounced “aloosh”) has been reported by a few guests, playing harmless pranks on occasion.  Once a year the staff of the hotel perform a ritual, making offerings to the aluxes to protect the land.  The Mayan culture plays a vital role in the hotel, rituals are performed at various points throughout the year, including a special ceremony for the “Day of the Dead”.

Guests are invited to participate in special Mayan cooking classes, learning how to cook with the underground “pib”.  The hotel restaurants feature Yucatecan specialties, including the delicious “cochinita pibil” and handmade tortillas that are out of this world.  The food in the breakfast and lunch buffets is fresh and varied, something for every taste.  The main a la carte restaurant offers tempting gourmet meals and will prepare special meals on request for groups or events.

The Mayaland Hotel is a very special place.  For anyone travelling to Cancun or the Riviera Maya with plans to visit Chichen Itza, consider taking the overnight tour and enjoying an extra piece of history.  The rooms and villas are cozy and inviting and the service staff is friendly, warm and extremely knowledgeable about the area.  You will be very glad you took the time to discover the Yucatan Peninsula outside of the beaches and nightclubs, stepping back in time and filling your mind with peace and tranquility.

We invite you to see our Flickr set for more photos of the Mayaland Hotel.

image courtesy www.sarahbrightmanenchichenitza.com

World renowned singer Sarah Brightman will be presenting a series of concerts in Mexico this month, culminating in a spectacular show at the ruins of Chichen Itza on October 31, 2009. The “Concierto de la Piramide” (“Concert of the Pyramid”) promises to be an unforgettable night, featuring the greatest songs of the world’s most loved soprano.

The Chichen Itza concert is part of a tour that includes shows in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico City, Puebla, Monterrey and stops in several South American countries. The performance is greatly anticipated by her Mexican and South American fans, 5000 people are expected to attend the Chichen Itza show. Please visit the official Sarah Brightman page for details of the Latin American tour.

Tickets for Sarah Brightman at Chichen Itza are available from Ticketmaster, with prices ranging from $500 MXN to $8000 MXN.  Regular transportation from Cancun and Merida is available for $475 MXN per person, departing from the Soriana parking lot (Kabah Ave) in Cancun at 2:30 pm and in Merida from the parking lot of the Convention Center Siglo XXI at 4:00.  The  VIP transportation packages offers dinner at Mayaland Hotel for $1410 MXN per person.  The VIP transportation option includes a welcome beverage, drinks on board the bus (sodas, beer, water) and exclusive  entrance to the concert, no waiting in lines!  Please call 01(998)193-3360 or  01-800-727-5391 or book online at  CancunTravel for transportation from Cancun or Merida.

"El Castillo" aka Kukulcán Pyramid

One of the new Seven Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the ruins of Chichen Itza are a spectacular place to visit any time of year, but there is no more exciting time than during a spring or fall equinox. On September 20, 21 and 22, thousands will visit this ancient Mayan ruin to witness a mysterious play of light on stone, when a shadowy serpent makes its way down the steps of the main Kukulcán pyramid.

While numerous Mayan ruins are found in Mexico and its neighboring countries to the south, Chichen Itza remains one of the most significant Mayan ruin sites, visited by thousands of travellers every year. Located in the state of Yucatan, Chichen Itza is easily accessible from Cancun and the Riviera Maya and is a popular day trip or overnight excursion. Considered to be the center of the Mayan civilization, the ancient city covers roughly 15 square kilometers. There are about 30 excavated buildings, with perhaps hundreds more left to be discovered buried in the surrounding jungle. The most impressive structure is “El Castillo”, also known as theis within easy reach of Cancun and the Riviera Maya for day trips or overnight stays. “El Castillo”, also known as the Kukulcán pyramid, stands 32 meters high with staircases climbing its four faces. The snake and the jaguar take prominent place in the carvings and statues of the site, great symbols of the ancient Maya. During the spring and fall equinox periods, sunlight and shadow plays on the stones in such a way that it appears that the body of a rattlesnake is descending the stairs to join the sculpture of a snake’s head at the bottom. It is a mystery just how the Mayans were able to accomplish this cosmic engineering feat, a mystery that continues to bring tourists, historians, astronomers and scientists from all over the world to the Chichen Itza equinox celebrations.

Join Dtraveller for the fall equinox at Chichen Itza, an unforgettable experience. Touch history and feel the magic of this astronomical event. Tours include transportation, bilingual guides, admission to the site, a buffet lunch and a visit to a nearby cenote. Comfortable footwear, sun protection and mosquito repellant are recommended. Contact us now to book your Chichen Itza tour from as little as $77 USD per person.

Tulum is located 82 miles south of Cancun. It has a great cultural importance and is the front door to the north coast Biosphere Reserve of Sian Ka’an. Is one of the most beautiful cities of the Mayan culture with the most spectacular view of the Mexican Caribbean.
Tulum o Tulu’um in Modern Maya or Tulúm in Spanish  is a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for Cobá located at the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. One of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites.

The Maya site may have been formerly also known by the name Zama, meaning city of Dawn. Tulúm is also the Yucatec Mayan word for fence or wall, and the walls surrounding the site allowed the Tulum fort to serve as a defense against invasion. From the numerous depictions in murals and other works around the site, Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Diving or Descending God.

The archaeological site is relatively compact, and is one of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites. Its proximity to the Riviera Maya and Cancún has made it a popular destination for tourists the third most-visited archaeological site in Mexico, after Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza . This tourist destination is now divided into three main areas: the archaeological site, the pueblo (or town), and the zona hotelera (or hotel zone).

From CancunTravel.com, http://www.cancuntravel.com/itulum.asp, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulum and Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau  http://cancun.travel/en/experiences/mayan-culture/tulum/.

The magnificent archaeological site of Chichen Itza, in Peninsula of Yucatan, Mexico, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the second most visited of Mexico’s archaeological sites. This archaeological site draws many visitors from the popular tourist resort of Cancún, principally Northamerican tourism, and some other visitors come from the city of Merida, Yucatan, Europeans and Americans people that likes cultural tourism.

In 2007, Chichen Itza’s El Castillo was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the Worldafter a worldwide vote. Despite the fact that the vote was sponsored by a commercial enterprise, and that its methodology was criticized, the vote was embraced by government and tourism officials in Mexico who project that as a result of the publicity the number of tourists expected to visit Chichen will double by 2012.

During the spring equinox, numerous visitors gather from all over the world to observe an unprecedented archaeo-astronomical phenomenon: the snakelike body of Kukulcan which descends from the top in the form of triangles of light and shadow, to fertilize the earth. Chichen Itza was a major regional center in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic to the early portion of the Early Post-classic period. The site exhibits a multitude of central Mexican architectural styles that was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion.The grandiose capital of the Itzaes impresses everyone for its size and grace. The site reveals much of the fascinating history of the Mayas, such as the Cenote of Sacrifices into which the victims were thrown; the immense Ball Game (the largest in Mesoamerica); The Snail, a Mayan astronomic observatory; the building of the Nuns, a great pyramid with a crack that shows its different stages of construction, and in the middle of a broad plaza, the majestic Castle, or pyramid of Kukulcan, is a gigantic calendar of stone. 

Chichen Itza is found 188 Km/117 miles west of Cancun. You can get there by a free highway or a 4 lane toll freeway, and the run is about 2.5 hours. The guided visit takes at least 2 hours to cover the main structures. There are various options for eating, both around the zone as well as in the town of Piste just 2 Km/1.25 miles away. There is a Sound and Light Spectacular every evening at dusk. On the way from Cancun to Chichen Itza you can visit the Colonial City of Valladolid and various Cenotes that are characteristic of the zone. There are daily excursions in different styles. Do you now Chichen Itza?

More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichen_itza

For booking a tour visit: http://www.cancuntravel.com/chichen-itza.asp