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Chichen Itza
Valladolid Yucatan

VALLADOLID YUCATAN

The Colonial town of Valladolid (Yucatan) is a must if you are visiting Chichen Itza. Even if you are not, Valladolid is an amazing experience for those who love authentic experiences out of the ordinary you can do in a regular trip.

Valladolid Yucatan
  • Valladolid is about 30 minutes from Chichen Itza, 1:30 hrs from Merida which is the Capital of the Yucatan State and about 1:45 hrs to 2:00 hrs from Cancun.
  • Valladolid is a “Magical Town” or Pueblo Mágico, which is a promotional initiative by the Mexican Tourism Board that lists the most beautiful towns of Mexico.
  • Valladolid Yucatan was named like this after the capital of Spain at that moment (1543) which was “Valladolid”. Valladolid in Mexico was built atop a Maya town called Zaci and the Spanish used the stones of the temples that were in this town to build the actual Colonial architecture.
  • Valladolid was the center of several disputes between the Spanish settlers and the Mayas, and was also one of the most important cities of the Yucatan peninsula and it was known as “La Sultana del este” (The Sultana of the East).

    • Valladolid Yucatan and its tourism

    Valladolid is a popular town to visit as we mentioned above, and it has a lot of history and culture, and there are several things you can do. One of them is visiting the Convent of San Bernardino de Siena, an ex-convent and church from the Colonial times.

    Convent of San Bernardino de Siena

    The main Plaza of Valladolid named Parque Principal Francisco Cantón Rosado has really nice views of the Cathedral of San Servasio. In the main Plaza of Valladolid you can find some of the most famous Hotels in town as well as really good restaurants.

    San Servacio Cathedral Valladolid Yucatan

    Something else you can do in Valladolid is visiting the Cenote Zaci, which is in the middle of town. At Cenote Zaci you can explore and swim in the fresh water and there is also a restaurant in the premises of the cenote.

    Cenote Zaci Valladolid

    Valladolid is also a really good town to taste the gastronomy of the Mayas. You'll find real authentic food around town, so make sure to explore and ask where to eat. There are lots of hidden jewels for Mayan Traditional food. Right in the park there is a Food market managed by locals where you can taste really good food like, tacos de cochinita, salbutes, panuchos, tamales and more…

    Located in the east part of Yucatan, Valladolid hosted rebellions and battles between conquerors and conquested. San Francisco de Campeche ruled over the tribes and established a camp around a lagoon called Chouac-Há (long water). This site became the operation center where Spanish conquerors would plan their strategies to take over the capital Zacihual.

    This city was an important political site for the “cupul”, people that resided in the Mayan provinces during that time. The most difficult part for the Spanish conquerors was making cupules to give up on them. Francisco de Campeche finally founded Valladolid name after the Spanish city as an homage.

    Later in history, two great events in Mexican history occur. The Caste War in 1847 and the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1910.

    Throughout the city of Valladolid, you can find establishments where they sell leather and henequen crafts. You can also find hamacs and traditional fabrics alongside numerous restaurants of local food. The sak-kol turkey, the smoked longaniza or longaniza ahumada and lomitos, all are icons of this province in Mexico.