The Calakmul Biosphere Reserve is not just one secret Maya site, but a collection of many sites to explore. Some are easily accessible; some will take you deep into the Mexican jungle. Most sites are centered around the village of Xpújil. this is the only place in the area with services and a perfect base. We spent three days exploring the Calakmul Biosphere reserve and visited most of the sites. If you’re very organised or you just want to see the highlights, that’s fine. However, if you want to take it a bit easier a couple more days are better. Here is the outline of my stay to help you plan yours!
Planning your trip to Calakmul
Xpújil is by far the best place to stay. It is the only significant town on the road from Escárcega to Chetumal and has accommodation options of all kinds. You’ll also find grocery stores, a petrol station and other services. We stayed in a guesthouse outside of town, which was pretty and comfortable, but the staff were weird and unhelpful.
We had a rental car, which was ideal as the Calakmul sites are spread out. Public transport will only get you back and forth along the main road. A car is essential for visiting Calakmul (main site) and the bat cave, but the smaller sites closer to Xpujil can also be visited by bicycle. This seemed like a fun way to explore the area, but our time was a bit too short.
The main challenge was to bring some structure in our plans. Online search prior to the trip had yielded few results and our guidebook had limited coverage of Calakmul. Luckily I’d found the address of the tourist office in Xpujil and we made this our first stop. To our pleasant surprise the staff were extremely helpful and kind. They spoke only Spanish, but my limited knowledge and their efforts got us a long way. They gave us a map of the biosphere and explained all about the sites, local handicrafts and workshops. Make this your first stop so you can make a plan before hitting the sites! If you don’t have a car or you want to rent bikes, they can help you out.
Day 1: Calakmul & bat cave
Calakmul is the main site of the biosphere and it truly is a secret Maya site. Visiting properly takes a full day. It will wear you out. Many of the structures in Calakmul have been excavated and restored and visitors are allowed to climb them. This is not a walk in the park under the burning Mexican sun! The Mayan name of the site means “two adjacent mounts”. This is a reference to the two main structures, huge pyramids, dominating the jungle and providing majestic views over the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. The Mayan city of Calakmul was first discovered in the 1930s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s – after 50 years of excavations – that archaeologists fully understood the importance of Calakmul in Mayan history.
Calakmul – a secret Maya site
From Xpújil, we drove half an hour to Conhúas, where we found the turnoff to Calakmul. Remember that there are NO FACILITIES in Calakmul – no accommodation, no restaurant, not even a vending machine for a bottle of water (although it looked like construction of a visitor centre was in progress). The stalls and roadside eateries at the turnoff are the last opportunity to buy water and food if you haven’t done so yet. From Conhúas, a more exciting drive through the jungle begins. The road is paved, but slowly degrades and narrows as you continue deeper into the jungle. We decided not to rush, but took our time to enjoy the scenery and wildlife (lots of birds, a local species of peacock and monkeys – no luck of seeing a jaguar!).
It took us nearly two hours from the main road, at a slow pace, to reach this secret Maya site deep in the Mexican jungle. Visiting the ruins (in a lot of detail) took us close to 5 hours. It is easy to lose your bearings in the labyrinth of the old city. Your best bet is to pick a pre-defined route and follow the (more or less logical) arrows around the site. There are three routes of varying lengths that you can chose from.
El Volcán de los Murciélagos (bat cave)
Back on the highway, we decided to find a place for dinner locally, whilst waiting for the right time to go to the famous Bat Cave on the way back to Xpújil (“El Volcán de los Murciélagos”). Whereas bat caves are not an unusual phenomenon, this one is unique because of its size and the variety of species. Around 2.5 million bats, covering a total of species emerge from the cave daily. The time depends on the sunset. You can ask the staff at Calakmul for seasonal details.
Much like the Mayan ruins, the bat cave is a secret site in the jungle. There is no signpost marking the entrance. Look for a small driveway near km 105 on the left side of the road driving from Conhúas towards Xpújil. The car park is tiny and when it’s full you will be sent away. People with badges and t-shirts from the Biosphere will be there to give instructions, explain about the bat cave and also look after visitors’ cars. They will expect a tip when you leave. From the car park, a 10 – 15 mins walk takes you to the cave. Visitors must go there early, settle down and keep quiet during the exodus of the bats. Despite the filthy smell and the rather scary spectacle, the experience was unique.
Day 2: smaller sites near Xpújil
On this day, staying in Xpújil was a real advantage. We visited four small sites, dotted around close to the village (Becan, Xpújil, Chicanna and Hormiguero). They all have unique features, so I wouldn’t recommend skipping any! You need one, maximum two hours on each site. If you’re going to cycle, this is the day to do it!
The Tourist Office has got a comprehensive overview of all the sites and what there is to see. The only site we missed out on is Balamku. That’s still nagging me.
Xpújil
The site in the village of Xpújil is the largest of the four sites we visited on day 2. We spend a good two hours here. The entrance to the site is right outside the village and we could have walked there from our B&B. Since we knew we visited more sites later, we’d come by car. I somewhat regretted this when we arrived in the (empty) car park and several local children approached us wanting to “guard” our car. We refused and nothing happened to the car, but it wasn’t an encouraging start.
The buildings at Xpújil are sizeable and visitors have a lot of freedom to roam and climb them. The tall, rounded structures surrounded by stiles are “rio bec style”, as they call it locally. A logical route and signposts take a you around the ruins. I expected a small site, but the number of buildings never seemed to end! Definitely worth the money.
Hormiguero
Hormiguero is a little bit further away from Xpújil. We drove for 10 – 15 minutes on a secondary road and then another 10 – 15 minutes on a bumpy track leading the ruins. Getting there by bike is definitely feasible too. The site is small and ours was the only car in the car park. Despite the proximity to buslting Xpújil, Hormiguero is quiet and peaceful. We hung around the ticket desk for a while, but when nobody showed up, we entered the site. Before exploring, we say down for a picknick lunch. Just as we were finishing a member of staff finally showed up. He then offered to take us around since we were to only clients so far on that day.
Hormiguero is sometimes nicknamed “the window to the underworld”, because of the many symbols referring to the Mayan “inframundo”. To me, Hormiguero was the most impressive of the four sites. Despite being small, it holds an impressive amount of stone carvings and the buildings have elaborate facades many of which are well preserved.
Towards the end of the visit, we got caught in a torrential downpour and sought shelter in (so I was told) an old royal bedroom. At the end of the visit, our guide disappeared quietly before we could even tip him.
Becán
A bit further down the main road is Becán. This site is the ancient capital of the Mayan sites in the Rio Bec area. The large structures dominating the landscape seem to support this. They are built in the same Rio Bec style, with tall towers and non-functional stairs creating the illusion of height.
Like in Xpújil, visitors to Becán have a lot of freedom to roam and climb the structures. I climbed most, often pulling myself up the huge stairs on a rope, and got rewarded with a nice view of the area.
Chicanná
Chicanná is almost right across the road from Becán. It translates as “the house of the snakes’ mouth”. This is probably my second favourite site in the area after Hormiguero. It is equally small, feels very peaceful and the elaborate, well-preserved carvings make for an interesting visit.
We stayed in Chicanná until closing time, giving up on the idea to squeeze in Balamku, another small site further on the road towards Conhúas.
Day 3: Rio Bec & travelling onward
As you leave Calakmul and drive towards Chetumal, Rio Bec is a site not to miss. Driving to the site is impossible – you need a quad! And even finding directions to the nearest village is a challenge. The tourist office in Xpújil arranged a quad and driver, Humberto, for us whom we met in “20 de Noviembre”, the closest village to Rio Bec and around 15km from Xpújil.
Exploring Rio Bec by quad
All we knew was that we were looking for a guy with a quad. We had no address or contact details. Luckily 20 de Noviembre is tiny, and shortly after we’d entered the village a guy with a quad approached us, waving his arms. We asked his name and established that this was Humberto. He spoke no English and his Spanish was difficult to follow for a rudimentary speaker like me, but we got the essence of his stories. We left our car at the side of the road, hopped onto the quad and set off.
Rio Bec sits deep in the jungle. It actually is a collection of three small sites. Its barely excavated structures are not as large or impressive as those on other sites we visited. However the rugged drive, remoteness and freedom to explore made it quite exciting. Humberto not only had stories about the excavations. He also pointed out secret doors and alleyways, showed us medicinal plants in the jungle and helped us spot birds and snakes.
After an excursion of nearly three hours, we returned to the village. We followed the advice of the lady at the tourist office to explore the local artisan workshops. I picked up some fresh and aromatic Yucatán honey and some wooden cutlery.
Onward travel to Bacalar
Our plan then was to return Chetumal and the coast and onward to Laguna Bacalar for a relaxed boat trip. I wasn’t stoked by Bacalar and think I would have preferred exploring even more ruins! As you return to the main road and drive further to Chetumal, keep your eyes peeled for signposts towards other Mayan sites in the area (Zona Arqueológica). The number of ruins dotted around here is never ending.
If you’re travelling onward in the Yúcatan, check out my blog post covering my visit to Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. If you’re crossing the border to Belize from Chetumal, check out my road trip itinerary for this amazing little country.
