The Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico is very well known for several reasons. One of them is being home to Chichen Itza, one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
The Yucatan Peninsula is the tail of Mexico that comprises mainly 3 Mexican States, Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatan itself.
In Campeche you have cities like Campeche which is the capital where you can find lots of history from the conquest of Mexico, there is a fort on the top of a hill that you can visit and find more history about the area.
Quintana Roo is the State of Mexico that hosts famous touristic cities like Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, among other hidden jewels of the area like Cozumel, Isla Mujeres or Puerto Morelos.
Yucatan is the State that gives the name to the Yucatan Peninsula and this is because this State has been here long before others and it has a lot of history, having of course Chichen Itza in its borders for example. But Yucatan is also home to beautiful cities and towns that you should visit. One of these beautiful towns is Valladolid, which is a town you would visit in most of the Chichen Itza Tours you can take. Valladolid is a Colonial town with warm people that will make you feel at home.
Yucatan also has Merida. Merida is the capital of the State and has lots of Colonial Buildings and one of the first Cathedrals built in Mexico. The city is beautiful to visit but the best part about Merida is its food. You really need to try the Cochinita tacos in Mérida, this is the very traditional breakfast for Sundays. There are lots of things you can try, like Salbutes, Panuchos, Relleno Negro, tamales… The list is never ending.
Talking history, the discovery of the Yucatan Peninsula encapsulates an European historic event. The Spanish Empire sent explorers to conquer the area in the XVI Century. But of course, the land was already inhabited by the Mayans.
The Spanish expedition sailed from the Port of Ajaruco in 1517 to La Habana, Cuba. It was a month later that they first landed in the Peninsula.
Francisco de Montejo, along with his son and his nephew San Francisco de Campeche, came in around 1546 to establish their government. In this particular event, a new rebelion from Mayan Tribes bursted against the Spanish conquerors, which made the Spanish men plan a re-conquest. The war lasted a year, and in 1547, the Spanish men won over the Mayans and established their government.
The weather in Yucatan is one of the hottest in Mexico; this is due to the geographic location. High temperatures hit the state all year giving the area a semi humid and hot weather. Aproximately 85% of the territory gets 75° F to 82° F throughout the year. The state of Yucatan can get up to 107° F in summer.
Most of the surface of the State of Yucatan is cover by low jungle, including areas in Campeche and Quintana Roo. This contributes to the vast biodiversity in Yucatan. Humidity rises in summer, making the jungle an ideal place for different species to cohabit.
Yucatan is home for 454 different bird species out of the 548 register in the Yucatan Peninsula. This represents 50% of species that are found in Mexico.This makes the State of Yucatan to be the most bird diverse State in the country. In addition, 17 endemic species also live in the State of Yucatan.
Also, in the Yucatan Peninsula you’ll find most of the Mayan Ruins in Mexico, all these Archaeological Sites are spread around the States of Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche, and states like Chiapas or Tabasco that are not exactly part of the Yucatan Peninsula.
There is a large list or Archeological Sites in the Yucatan Peninsula and we will show it to you, but among the most known or famous are, of course Chichen Itza, one of the largest Mayan Ruins in the area, Tulum, the Ocean Front Mayan Ruins, Coba, one of the tallest pyramids in the Mayan region, Uxmal, a beautiful very aesthetic archaeological site in the state of Campeche, Ek Balam, really unexplored ruins that you can still climb that are on the way to Rio Lagartos.
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