subject: Visiting Tulum, Central America [print this page] Tulum is one of the most popular tourists sites in Central America because of the many attractions that are located there. The well preserved Maya ruins, beautiful coast, and caves are only a few of the attractions in this area.
With a variety of business schedules and other commitments, there are many things that can pull a family apart. You may not feel like you have seen your family altogether in several weeks even though all of your children still live at home.
This is part of why it is so important to make opportunities to grow closer as a family and to enjoy spending time together. One of the best ways to do that is to take a family adventure and travel somewhere new and exotic.
One place that you may consider traveling to is Tulum in Central America. Tulum is the site of pre-Columbian Maya ruins.
While younger children may not appreciate the ruins, they will enjoy exploring. Older children will be awed by the history and beauty of what is left of this ancient Maya city.
The town of Tulum, Quintana Roo is a normal Spanish based town. Here you can collect many souvenirs and enjoy walking on the beautiful coast.
The ruins are also on the coast as it served as a port. It was exposed to the sea and was therefore walled. Tulum is on the edge of the Yucatan Peninsula by the Caribbean Sea.
The Maya city reached its economic and social peak between the 13th and 15th centuries. It began its decline, but lasted for a full 70 years after the Spanish arrived and took over Mexico.
However, it was finally abandoned when the Spanish diseases wiped out most of the population. These ruins are one of the best preserved sites along the coast.
The Maya city was called Zama, which was the word for dawn in the native tongue. The modern city, Tulum, is the word that means fence or wall.
It was built to help protect the inner land and cities from invasion by the sea. This city was a very important trade city as it was a center on both the sea and land trade routes.
The main item that was traded was obsidian, which was necessary for the making of weapons and many other things. There is also indication that this city was a center for the arts and history as there are many murals found around the ruins.
It also indicates that it was highly religious. The main god worshiped here was the Diving or Descending god.
Tulum is also a popular family attraction because there are many fantastic underwater caves which can be explored through snorkeling. Of course, this is an activity for older children only, but it is an experience which they will never forget.
Other popular tourist areas such as the Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Jamaica are also very close to this location. The first time that Tulum appears in history is in a journal of Juan Diaz when he explored the area in 1518.
Later the ruins were mentioned by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in 1843. These explorers also wrote down a detailed map of the ruins.
Among the ruins they found a stele which was described to be dated back to AD 564. As the town of Zama was not that old, many believe that this stele was transported from another, much older, town during the lifetime of Zama.
Upon excavation of the site, many copper and flint artifacts have been found. Ceramics, incense burners, and gold objects have also been found.
These objects originate from other cities located all over Central America. This is more proof of how large of a trade center this was.
Salt, textiles, feathers, jade and other objects have also been found. While the site was very important and fairly large, it is more compact than other discovered Maya sites and ruins.
These ruins are also better preserved than other sites. These things have made this site one of the most popular ruins in the area as well as one of the most popular tourist attractions.
The ruins are easy to reach because of this as tour buses frequent the site on a regular basis throughout the day. Tulum only comes after Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza in popularity.
This is a great family vacation as it combines history with awesome architectural ruins and the beautiful Caribbean scenery. Other sites you may be interested in that are nearby include Maya Blue, Naharon, Temple of Doom, Tortuga, Vacaha, Grand Cenote, Abejas, Nohoch Kiin, Carwash cenotes and the caves.
This will be an experience that your family will never forget. In addition, it will bring your family closer together and may become more united.
