Chetumal Attractions

Quintana Roo State - Capital

The Museo de la Cultura Maya

This museum is dedicated to the complex world of the Maya. Exhibits explain Maya social classes, politics, and customs; Maya architecture; their use of plants for medicinal and domestic purposes; and the Maya calendar. To us the most impressive display is the three-story Sacred Ceiba Tree. The Maya use this symbol to explain the relationship between the cosmos and earth. The first floor represents the roots of the tree where the Maya underworld, Xibalba, reigns. The middle floor is the tree trunk, known as Earth, or Middle World, home to humans and all their trappings. The top floor is the leaves and branches and the 13 heavens of the cosmic Otherworld.

Chacchoben

Chacchoben in Mayan means "the Place of Red Corn", in Spanish you would say "Lugar de Maiz Colorado”. Settlement by the Maya at the site is estimated at 200 BC, and the structures date from 700 AD. Visitors to the site today walk a circular path that includes three excavated and restored pyramids, as well as many walls and staircases.

Excavation work is continuing on several mounds which are known to contain further buildings. Some structures still bear traces of the red paint they were originally coated with, and the site has set up shaded areas to prevent further degradation of this pigment by the sun. Also notable is a large stone slab called a Stella, containing Mayan glyphs at the base of the largest pyramid These sites are very spiritual to the Maya people.

Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve

Located along the Caribbean coast in the State of Quintana Roo, Sian Ka'an was Mexico's first Biosphere Reserve.

As one of the largest protected areas in Mexico, it is an assembly of ecosystems, with equal parts lowland tropical forests, wetlands (marshes, flooded savannahs and mangrove forests), and coastal and marine habitats (lagoons, bays, and coral reefs).
With nine vegetation types, Sian Ka'an is estimated to have over 1,200 species of vascular plants.

Its wetlands are home to manatees and two species of endangered crocodiles, while the beaches are prime breeding areas for green, loggerhead, hawksbill, and leatherback sea turtles. The tropical forests provide habitat for several endangered and threatened species including jaguar, puma, ocelot, tapir, howler monkey, spider monkey, and king vulture. More than 330 species of birds are found here, including a large number of migratory songbirds