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 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.
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.
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.
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.