4 Places to Discover the Mayan World in Mexico and Central America

4 Places to Discover the Mayan World in Mexico and Central America
El Castillo, main Pyramid of Chichen Itza, Mexico among the New Seven Wonders of the World. Pierrette Guertin/Dreamstime/TNS
Tribune News Service
Updated:
By Valentin Fuentes From TravelPulse

Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are celebrating three decades of founding the Mayan World Organization (Organización Mundo Maya), which focuses on improving the quality of life of the region’s residents through sustainable tourism policies.

The group of countries is seeking to bring back the tourist activity they saw in 2019, when 50 million tourists visited. “We are focusing on the new tourist profile, which favors sanitary and security measures in the places they visit; open spaces, in contact with nature; and coexistence with local communities, avoiding overcrowding,” said Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism Miguel Torruco.

Arline connections have been expanded to link tourist cities in Mexico and Guatemala, he said.

Ana Beatriz González, of the Mundo Maya Organization, said that the goal of this effort to stimulate sustainable tourism development so that the heritage of the Mayan culture is recognized worldwide today and in future generations.

Here are a few of the best sites to experience in the Mayan world.

Chichén-Itza

Mexico is home to one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The main building, known as the Castle, has a north-facing staircase and features a red jaguar-shaped altar and several pieces of turquoise mosaics. In addition, the archeological area has three other important buildings: the temples of the Four Lintels, Three Lintels, and the Lintel, besides the Patio of the Thousand Columns, the Temple of the Warriors, the Ball Game, and the Temple of the Eagles, among others.

Río Plátano Reserve

This Natural Heritage of Humanity of Honduras is a tropical rainforest with abundant flora and fauna and incredible biodiversity and is considered a HotSpot worldwide. It is located on the banks of the Rio Plátano and is inhabited by indigenous populations living in an area that includes coasts, forests, pine savannas, mangroves, and keys.

Tikal National Park

This archeological area of Guatemala, also a World Cultural Heritage Site, is considered one of the most important of the Mayan Civilization. Visit places like Plaza de Los Siete Templos (Seven Temples Plaza) where you'll discover the Temple of the Two-headed Serpent located to the west with a height of 213 feet. In addition, nearby is the gigantic pyramid La Danta.

Sumidero Canyon National Park

Located in Mexico, Sumidero Canyon National Park is a sanctuary of natural life that began to form 136 million years ago and has a large river in which visitors enjoy rafting on a course of more than 18 miles in an area full of various species of birds. There are also sidewalks to cycle and enjoy the waterfalls of the place.
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