Chichen Itzá, a place of wisdom and big constructions, showing the magnificence of the high level of understanding in Astrology and Mathematics the Maya Itza people reached. In addition, it is one of the most important archaeological sites and vestige of one of the most important pre-hispanic civilizations; the name comes from the Mayan words: Chi (mouth), Chen (well) and Itza (which means wizards of water). When we join the words, we get “Itza’s well mouth” or “At the edge of the well of the wizards of water”.^[

The Warriors Temple, The Observatory, The Sacred Cenote, The Ball Game, are only a part of the greatness of this civilization and ancient Mayan metropolis. The archaeological site of Chichen Itza was included in the Humanity’s Patrimony list by the Unesco in 1988. On July 7^th, 2007, it was recognized as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World by a private organization without the Unesco’s support, but with the gratitude of millions of people from all over the World. Chichen Itza is 2 hours away from Merida.

Uxmal. It is an ancient Mayan city of the classic period; the largest and most beautiful Mayan city of the Classic Puuc style. It is famous for its buildings and temples, as well as for its magnificent terraces. Currently, it is one of the most important archeological sites of the Mayan culture, located in the Puuc area, and it is the most representative city of this architectural style. The constructions take advantage of the land formation to rise and reach important heights. The Pyramid of the Fortuneteller with five levels and the Palace of the Governor with an extension of 1,200 m² stand out there. Uxmal is 1:30 minutes away from Merida.

Kabah is a Mayan archeological site located to the south of the archaeological site of Uxmal in the Yucatan State in Mexico. It is the second largest archeological site in Puuc area just after Uxmal. It is famous for its front with 260 masks, representing Chaac, Lord of Rain. Also we can find there a monumental arch which is the entrance to this ceremonial center. The name of this archaeological site of "Kabah" or "Kabaah" probably comes from the ancient Maya and means “tough hand”. This is a pre-hispanic name mentioned in the Mayan chronicles. An alternate name is "Kabahuacan" or "Royal Serpent on the hand". Kabah is 20 minutes away from Uxmal.

Celestun, is a small town located 85 kilometers from Merida City in Yucatan, Mexico. It has a beautiful lagoon that joins a swamp and it is famous for the pink flamingoes that live there. The restaurants are located right on the beach. At the entrance of this port you will find a dock where the villagers offer guided tours. Celestun is approximately 1:30 minutes away from Merida.

 Surrounding the town, there is the Ecological Reserve of Celestun that covers around 600 km² and is internationally known because it is a winter shelter for hundreds of flamingoes and other bird species. The environment in Celestun is unique because of the combination of sweet water from the Celestun river and the salty water from the Gulf of Mexico. The flamingoes in Celestun are the pinkest ones in world; this is because of the high concentration of carotene in the water. Besides, this place is also the home of different species of pelicans like the grand Canadian white one and the little gray Mexican one.

 Celestun is communicated with firm land through a bridge which is the point where some tourist expeditions leave on boat rides along the lagoon. Among other tourist attractions that surround this place we can mention the petrified woods, swamps and cenotes where you can swim.

Dzibilchaltun is located 17 km to the north of Merida and it is considered one of the most ancient Mayan cities. Its name means “place where there is handwriting on plain stones.” The most famous construction The Temple of the Seven Dolls, named this way due to seven little figures found in this place by the archeologists in the 50´s. when the sun rises in the spring equinox, it shines directly to one of the temple’s windows. The temple is connected to the rest of the site through a long sacbe (white road). The other important feature of Dzibilchaltun is its cenote and you can swim there. Dzibilchaltun also has the ruins of a Spanish church from which dates back from the XVI century and was built after the conquest. This archeological site also has a museum that exhibits the Mayan objects of the site and from the surroundings.

Progreso is the main port in the Yucatan state, located about 20 minutes away from the north of Merida. During the months of July and August the beach gets crowded by thousands of tourists, especially the local tourism. This has become an annual tradition for the wealthy residents of Merida. It is the most crowded beach in the state, not only because it is the closest one to Merida, but because of its large beach of shallow water and white & fine sand. In the summer time, there is a party atmosphere because of the traditional large affluence of visitors who can practice several water sports. From this beach, you can see the dock of Progreso and the long road that connects the remote terminal with the port.

Izamal (Itzmal in maya: sky dew) is the capital of the town with the same name and one of the 106 municipalities we have in the Yucatan state in Mexico. Izamal city is located 66.5 km to the east of Merida and 60 km to the northwest of Chichen Itza. It is known as “The City of Hills” for the important archaeological remains in its area where 5 large Mayan pyramids outstand over the others. It is also known as “City of 3 Cultures”, according to a chronicle person of Izamal City this is because it has pre-hispanic, colonialist, and contemporary cultural legacies. The Kinich Kakmo pyramid is the largest in foundation and height in the whole Yucatan Peninsula, the Izamal convent has the largest atrium in the world and was visited by John Paul II in 1993 who made all the Mayan ethnics get together.

Mayapan was a Mayan city of the post-classic late period. It is located to the south of the Yucatan state, in Mexico, and it was constructed resembling Chichen Itza. Its main buildings are a copy of the ones in the Itza capital. The main building in Mayapan is named Castle dedicated to the Kukulcan god and it is a 15 meter high pyramidal foundation of nine levels. Several platforms are found in this archaeological site, too. In Mayapan you can also see the light and shade phenomena during the summer and winter solstices. The first one is when the sun gets its maximum declination to the north considering the west as reference. The second one is when the sun gets its maximum declination to the south considering the west as reference.

Loltun comes etymologically from Lol - Flower and Tun - Stone, Stone Flower in the Mayan language. Currently, Loltun with its famous caves is the archaeological site with the widest chronological sequence; it is part of the cave system located to the south of the Yucatan State, in Mexico. Among the most important findings in Lol Tun we can mention some evidences of human settlements that date back from the Pleistocene, like cave paintings (including human hands, faces, animals, and ornamental designs), sculptural parts, Mayan tools, and even bison, mammoth, and saber tooth tiger bones which are evidence of the climate changes that have affected this area. These caves have been arranged in such a way that it is easy for people to visit them and walk along their 2 km of length; however, a guide is needed to do so. The caverns have an estimated extension of 8 or 10 km, but only the 2 km that are open to the public have been explored. It is also worth saying that even though they are 65 m deep in the inside, the atmosphere is warm due to the 9 openings the caverns have.

The Puuc Area, Region or Route is located to the south of Merida City in the Yucatan State in Mexico. This place has remains of various Mayan cities that have their own and common    architectural characteristics. This architectural style is known as the Puuc Style and it is one of the five architectural styles of the Mayan culture.

The word Puuc means “hill” or “group of hills” in the Mayan language. The Puuc area goes from Maxcanu to the south of Peto and continues to the southwest near Campeche. As its name says, it is an area of small hills, without rivers, and a few cenotes, with an extensive area of productive land.

This style is not exclusive of this area since there have been found samples of this style in other sites of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The most important Mayan cities in this area are Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil and Labna. All of these sites are connected through white roads sacbes. The transition of the architecture before the classic period to the Puuc style can be appreciated in Oxkintok. We can also find samples of this style out of the Puuc area to the south in Edzna and to the east in Chichen Itza.