Tulum
Beautiful Caribbean beaches and impressive traces of the Maya
Categories: Cenotes Mexico City Tulum Yucatán
The shining white sand beach seems to stretch endlessly in both directions, small, cozy palm groves provide pleasant shade. The sun shines from a cloudless, bright blue sky and lets the Caribbean Sea, which is crashing in small, calm waves onto the coral sand, shimmer in a variety of green and blue tones.
The mighty silhouette of an ancient Mayan temple watches over everything, giving the scenery something magical - the holiday resort of Tulum in the northeast of the Mexican Yucatán peninsula combines nature and culture, modernity and history, beach holidays and sightseeing as well as cultural experiences like no other. 
© Diana Hoffman / Fotolia
No longer an insider's tip among backpackers and adventurers, holidaymakers from all over the world now visit the small coastal resort to enjoy a relaxing beach holiday on paradisiacal Caribbean beaches and to follow in the footsteps of the admirable, ancient high culture of the Maya.
Once an important centre of the Maya Located directly on the Caribbean coast, the Riviera Maya, Tulum was already an important trading centre in Mayan times. This value, as well as the wealth of the settlers associated with trade, transformed the settlement into a well-fortified city with a city wall, port, various temples and other important buildings.
Even today, many of these structures and buildings are still preserved and have been rightly declared "pueblo mágico" - a distinction that only extremely interesting cities and sites of historical or religious significance in all of Mexico are allowed to bear.
Less than two kilometers east of today's town, the historic Mayan ruins nestle on the coast, surrounded by light dry forest. It is the only Maya site in Mexico that is located directly on the sea. Whether by land or by sea, visible from afar, one of the most important buildings towers above the entire site, the Castillo, also known as the Temple of the Descending God.
In the Templo de las Pinturas, one can admire different artistically arranged frescos and wall paintings.
Due to its rich wall paintings in green-blue colours, the fresco temple is one of the most interesting buildings of the ruins. The impressive frescos represent the corn cult and testify the great religiousness of the Maya. The Temple of the Wind also appears to be special, as it has a semicircular design that is rather unusual for Mayan architecture.
A refreshing conclusion of the visit to the Mayan site is a plunge into the sea in the area of the Old Harbour, which was not only a pulsating centre in former times but also a popular bathing place in front of a historical scenery today.
Caribbean flair and turquoise blue sea But the beach at the Mayan site is by far not the only way to spend a relaxed and sunny beach holiday in Tulum. More than seven kilometres of beautiful sandy beaches line the Riviera Maya. Together with the year-round warm temperatures and the sunny, tropical climate, beach holidaymakers and sun-seekers will find excellent conditions for relaxing beach days.
The reef in front of the coast protects the beaches from strong waves and allows families with children to swim and swim. For those who are looking for relaxation and peace, comfortable hammocks in the shade of the palm trees bordering the beach are waiting for those who want to forget the stressful everyday life. But the reef does not only create lagoon-like bathing conditions, it also has the odd surprise in store for divers and snorkelers. 
© swisshippo / Fotolia
The colourful underwater world of fish and corals is an incomparable natural spectacle.
Friends of the underwater world, however, not only the reef is recommendable, also a visit to the numerous underwater caves remains unforgettable. The freshwater-filled "cenotes" in the karstic surroundings of Tulum are probably part of one of the largest underwater cave systems on our earth, but certainly a fascinating and exciting journey into a world that is still largely unknown and characterized by a wide variety of underwater flora and fauna.
