Another half-day adventure is Tulum. The extensive Mayan ruins are the main attraction, the third most visited ruins in Mexico.

If you want to photograph Tulum Ruins without many people in your images, rise early and catch a colectivo on Highway 307. From Grand Sirenis, the fare is 30 pesos per person.

Government-operated, the ruins open at 8am. The tour buses (mostly from Cancun and Playa del Carmen) start arriving about 9:30am. The admission price is 51 pesos per person.

You wander through a jungle to the stacked-rock walls of the compound, entering through a gate (actually a hole in the wall). Immediately, your eye is drawn to the seaside structures, one above a former cenote and the castillo on the cliff. Both are built out of limestone and coral.

The beach here is beautiful – and many come to simply enjoy it. From the beach, the views of the ruins are impressive, even, romantic.

The ruins have gone to the iguanas. They are everywhere you turn!

Besides the castillo, the most evocative ruins are the palaces and the temple of the frescos. The palaces have many columns which, probably, held thatched roofs. Most of the temple’s sculptures and frescos have been damaged so you must use your imagination. They appear to depict human sacrifices.

Click on any image to see it larger.

Castillo - Front Panorama