Cobá Mayan Ruins, Mexico
March 2006
Cobá is a special site simply because its a little bit out of the way. The extra effort in getting there puts off enough tourists to keep this site pleasurably peaceful !
Being inland though it can very hot, the site is shady and bicycles are available, though walking is no big deal either.
Wide paths through the jungle have been cleared, though there are still all the sounds that give an India Jones feel!
Approximately 2.5 hours are need to work at leisure around the site. Another option is to rent a bike or even a rickshaw.
Perhaps due to less impact from tourists, there is an abundance of wildlife around Cobá. From Monkeys to lizards like this one.
The main pyramid, Nohoch Mul a pretty impressive 136ft (42m) high, the highest pyramid in the Yucatan Peninsula.
There are far less tourists than would be found at Tulúm, but the new road to Valladolid may change all that in the near future.
One of the 5 lakes in the region from which Cobá derives its name meaning,"ruffled waters".
Cobá thrived between 600 and 1100 AD the site stretching out over a whopping 60 sq Km, most of which is still to be excavated
Ball court. No Mayan Site would be complete without one.
By the ball court Liliana noticed that this tree looks remarkably like an elephant. So here is a Mexican elephant to compliment the Mexican Crocodile.
I have no idea if this big girl is dangerous, I believe though I'm by no means certain that this she is a Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii). We found her rustling around the edge of a swamp close to the exit from the Cobá site.
Probably a pretty good view can be found from the top of this building.
As with many steep pyramids, Nohoch Mul is trickier to get down than to climb up.
Cobá was the hub of the sacbe network of limestone roads that crisscross the Yucatan. A curiosity about the Sacbe network is that the Maya did not use the wheeled carts for transport, they carried there goods. That a lot of effort for a footpath!
How to get there - Directions
It's pretty easy to find Cobá. From Tulúm on federal Highway 307 (The main road) turn west at the traffic lights by the San Francisco supermarket. This is the Cobá road. Just follow the signs. At one point the road hits a roundabout which ultimately forks right to Valladolid. Here you need to bear left. (Just in case the signs are missing!)
35 - 45 minutes should do it, though at the time of writing the time was difficult to judge due to the road being converted to a dual carriageway. Maybe its only 10 minutes now!
