How many ruins are there in Campeche?

In the Calakmul area there are at least seven, there’s Edzna, near Campeche city and at least seven more we know of.

And then, of course there are the ruins in Yucatán, Quintana Roo, & Chiapas to consider too!

There’s really nowhere else like Calakmul though, in fact, Calakmul and nearby Becán both make it into my top 10 best ruins on the Yucatán Pensula list.

Visiting the ruins in the Calakmul area

Why visit Calakmul and the surrounding area?

Mostly because it’s there, it’s incredible & most other people don’t.

History & culture

⭐️ The Calakmul Reserve is one of the largest protected areas in Mexico, covering more than 14% of the state, and Calakmul is the largest Mayan city found in Mexico to date. It is considered to be one of the most outstanding pre-hispanic cities of the Mayan Classic period. There is evidence of an uninterrupted architectural sequence from 550 BCE to 900 CE at Calakmul.

Calakmul’s location in the geographic centre of the Mayan region, means that culture here was influenced by the cultures form both the north and south. Calakmul was part of a regional coalition that included El Mirador, Nakbe and Uaxactún. This group would do battle with southern neighbours such as Tikal. Tikal ultimately beat Calakmul, causing its decline as a great centre 695 CE and Calakmul to look north for relationships with cities such as Río Bec.

The incredible jade mask on display in Campeche was found in Calakmul

Although there are over 6,750 ancient structures found so far in Calakmul, most people go to Calakmul to see the two giant pyramids, in fact, the meaning of Calakmul is ‘two adjacent mounds / pyramids’.

The two pyramids at Calakmul are the highest Mayan pyramids in Mexico. In fact, at over 45m tall, the Great Pyramid is one of the tallest Maya pyramids ever found. The views from the top are stunning and well worth the climb. It’s possible to see into Guatemala from the top of the pyramids but given that you’re looking over jungle it’s hard to tell where Mexico ends and Guatemala begins.

➕ Don’t forget that there are six other incredible Maya archaeological sites not far from the fabulous Calakmul that are even less visited than and less well-known than Calakmul. You can find more information about them ⬇️.

Nature & wildlife

The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve was established as a natural protected area in 1989 and 2002 it was given UNESCO World Heritage Site status. It is one of the largest protected areas in Mexico, covering more than 14% of the state of Campeche.

It is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna including

🦜 350+ species of bird including the amazing Toh birds, parrots & ocellated turkeys – you’re most likely to see the ocellated turkey (pictured above)

🐒 Howler & Spider monkeys – you’ll definitely hear the noisy Howler monkeys and there’s a good chance of seeing both

🐆 Jaguars, ocelots, puma and more – you’d have to be extremely lucky to spot any of the cats that live in the jungle here

🌳 Don’t ignore the incredible trees that include the Ceiba (the tree of life for the Maya), strangler figs, chicozapote and gum trees that grow everywhere

🦇 Just after 5.30 pm every day millions of bats wake up and leave a huge cave making for a fantastic natural show. This is just outside of the bisophere and is named as Cueva de Murcialago on the map (it’s not free, you arrive and park on the side of the road, pay a small sum and are led up to the site).

Imagine yourself in the heart of the jungle coming across these incredible and imposing pyramids, whole structures barely separated from the trees and earth around them, no other people anywhere, just you, the ancient stone buildings and nature all breathing together.

Getting to Calakmul and getting around

The Calakmul ruins are found within the Reserva de la Biosfera de Calakmul, located in the state of Campeche, at the base of the Yucatán Peninsula abutting the Peten Region of Guatemala to the south. 

The nearest small town to the biosphere entrance is Xpujil (45 minutes away) and this is the town around which most visitors base their trip. Here you’ll find hotels, restaurants and a bus station. It’s a 5 hour drive from Campeche.

🚗 The roads around the Yucatán Peninsula are generally fine, certainly the highways are great. Smaller roads, including in the biosphere are safe and since fairly recently, pothole free.

⛽️  If you do take a car, watch your petrol (gas) usage and be sure to fill up when you pass gas stations as there aren’t many in the Calakmul area.

→ Read the MexicoCassie guide to renting a car & driving around the Yucatán Peninsula

→ Check rental options & prices now

🚝 The Maya Train has a station at Xpujil and one at the entrance to the biosphere, both on the line between Escárcega and Bacalar.

🚌 It’s possible to take ADO buses and minibuses all the way to Xpujil should you wish to do so but it’s not the easiest of journeys and once you’re there you’ll need to book taxis or tours to get to the ruins.

→ Check Bus Timetables with Busbud

Tours into Calakmul

👣 You can take a tour to Calakmul from Campeche, Mérida, Bacalar. I use Viator & GetYourGuide to plan my own trips. It’s also possible to book tours in Xpujil.

Best time to visit Calakmul

🔆 Calakmul and the other sites of this area are best visited in the dry season (October – April) as the biosphere roads and other small roads can be pretty impassable in the rainy season. Calakmul would make a great spring break family vacation option.

🕚 In order to visit the Calakmul archaeological site you need to allow for the 90 minutes driving from the biosphere entrance at the main road to the actual site deep in the jungle. The site itself is open 8 am – 5 pm but you can enter the park before 8 am. The first time I went, we were at the biosphere gates at 7.45 am and we were by no means the first to enter the park (It opens at 6 am). 

❌ No one is permitted to enter the biosphere after 3 pm and last access to the site itself is 4 pm.

✅ My recommendation is to visit ruins early in the morning – the heat isn’t so oppressive and there are generally fewer people around then. 

Where to stay when you visit the Calakmul area

Generally people stay around Xpujil but there are a few hotel options in or around the entrance to the reserve. 

Visiting the Calakmul archaeological site

How long do you need to visit Calakmul?

If you’re only planning on visiting the Calakmul site then you need one day in the biosphere but the reality is that very few people are visiting the whole area of Calakmul in a day wherever they’re coming from. I know of one person who did it from Mérida. Neither they nor I recommend it! 

Ideally, you want 3 – 5 days depending on how many of the sites you want to visit.

⭐️ My recommendation is to take a trip to Calakmul nice and slow, really make the most of it. Not many people are privileged enough to get to visit Calakmul, so don’t rush this.

Sitting at the top of the pyramid, listening the noise of the howler monkeys all around, and gazing over the tree tops with the sun beating down on us was a reminder of how lucky we are that these sites have been preserved and restored and that we are able to visit.

Becán

Becán is one of my most favourite sites ever.

⭐️ Becán was the political, economic and religious capital of the province known as Río Bec. Earliest archaeological evidence here dates from 550BCE and the site was abandoned around 1200 CE. Becán means ‘gully by water‘, probably so named because it has a ditch all the way around the site. 

As you arrive at the plaza you’ll find a large and complex building on your left. Directly in front of you is a tunnelled passageway through to a huge twin-towered temple, a small pelota court and two pyramids (all climbable). The views from the main pyramid took our breath away and all four of us sat quietly just taking it in, listening to the (deliberate) fire crackle in the farms below and watching the trees sway as birds flew both below and above us.

Balamkú

When we visited, we had this entire site to ourselves. I asked why and the guide (you need one of the staff to come with you to open up the frieze) told me that Campeche doesn’t advertise this site at all so almost no one visits.

Balamkú was only rediscovered in 1990. The name means Jaguar Temple, so named for the incredible frescoes and the frieze.

This ancient Mayan city is thought to have flourished between  500-650 CE but was probably inhabited from around 300 BCE. The style is mainly Rio Bec with some clear Peten influences. We very much felt like we were exploring a satellite town of Calakmul and we joked about teenaged ancient Mayas herer being desperate to get to the action in Calakmul.

Balamkú is made up of three distinct areas, the first you reach has a small pyramid. The second area that’s open to visitors houses the incredible frescoes and the frieze that’s under lock and key in the largest structure. It’s well worth getting inside.

🎟 Free

Chicanná

Chicanná is a small site. Most of the buildings are Río Bec in style and were constructed during the late Classical Period. In the second area you’ll visit you will find the most fantastic structure with the form of a giant mask symbolising Itzamna, the Mayan god of creation represented as a reptile (also very important in Izamal in Yucatán). According to legend, anyone who entered the building through the mouth was swallowed by this god. Truly it was magnificent. There is also a section of original red painted decoration left you can see.

⭐️ The city was thought to have been an elite suburb of Becán.

Xpuhil

This site is in the small town of Xpujil. Xpuhil means ‘cattail’ in Maya – on the entrance sign you’ll see the sign says, “Cola de Gato” (cat tail in Spanish)

The first evidence of humans on this site comes from 400 BCE. It was considered to be an important site between 600 and 900 CE declined around 1200 CE. The site is architecturally part of the Río Bec group. The city had 17 building groups in its heyday.

Río Bec

Hidden in the jungle, the ancient Maya site of Río Bec showcases gorgeous temple-pyramids, built in a style named after it.  Accessible only through dirt roads and tracks through a protected forest, getting there is an adventure, and once you see the structures, they will leave you in awe. Most representative of the architectural style that gave its name to an entire region, the site comprises a few independent groups scattered through the jungle.

Spectacular, and fun to explore, Río Bec A has the best-preserved, excavated pyramid-temple, which you can climb and even walk on, crossing from one of its towers to the next. But the building where you will recognize the style most is in Río Bec B, a ride away from the first site.

To visit the site of Río Bec, you need a local guide. Humberto Dzib Tun knows everything about these ruins and the surrounding jungle, and as a native Maya, he can offer insights into his culture, past and present. You can find him in the Mayan village of Veinte de Noviembre, a few miles from Xpujil.

Emese adds that it would be very difficult to find the Río Bec site on your own. You can read more about her adventure at Río Bec here.

🎟 Free

Hormiguero

Though home to one of the most beautiful and well-preserved temple-pyramid representative of Río Bec style, Hormiguero is a little-known site, hidden behind miles of a narrow dirt road in the jungle. Though you can find the site following Google Maps to get there, be prepared to drive on a very narrow dirt road.

Chenes style decorations highlight the Río Bec architectural style, including the telltale Chak masks. You can hire a guide or take a tour to Hormiguero, and you can find info about either of these options in Xpujil or, you can venture into the jungle on your own.

🎟 Free

Edzná

On the other side of Campeche, just 53km from Campeche City (under an hour’s drive) is Edzna.

Edzna was inhabited as early as 400 BCE but became a major city by 200 BCE. It was only abandoned in 1500s CE. Its architecture is an amalgamation of architectural styles. For example, the pyramid and other buildings are in the Puuc style, suggesting influences, and even occupation, from northern groups.

Opinion is that the site grew in importance due to its location at the bottom of a valley that used to flood. A canal system was developed to deal with the flooding. They were later used for defence and trade, hence the growth of the city.

⭐️ MexicoCassie recommended tour to Edzna – leaving from Campeche, this excellent half day tour includes an English speaking guide, entry fee, snacks & transport.

Other Campeche ruins

Also in Campeche are smaller sites

Dzibilnocac – just over the border from Yucatan near the modern town of Hopelchén. The name probably means ‘Painted House’. Its style is Chenes and it is thought to have flourished as a city between 600 – 1100 CE.

Hochob – The name means ‘place of corn ears’. In Chenes region. 800CEA single group of buildings.

Nadzcaan – near Balamku

Xcalumkin – near Yucatan border. Only open Wed – Sun 8 am – 5 pm.

Tohcok – This is a small archaeological site near Hopelchén. Constructed in the Puuc style with some Chenes influences.

Santa Rosa Xtampak – one of the largest Mayan cities in Chenes style but with notable Puuc influences. Peaked between 600 – 800 CE.

El Tigre – El Tigre is the name for the ancient city of Itzamkanac, the capital of the province of Acalan. Near the pueblo magico of Canldelaria. The site was occupied between 600 BCE and 1557 CE.