🌊 Tulum

About This Sacred Site

Tulum is the only major Maya city built on the coast, dramatically perched on 12-meter cliffs overlooking the turquoise Caribbean Sea. The walled city served as a major port for the Maya trade network and was dedicated to the Descending God, whose image appears throughout the site. El Castillo, the main temple, was strategically positioned to serve as a lighthouse, with openings that guided canoes through the reef. When Spanish explorers first sighted Tulum in 1518, it was still a thriving city, one of the last Maya cities to be inhabited.

Key Facts

• •One of the last Maya cities to be inhabited, still thriving when the Spanish arrived in 1518
• •The only major Maya city built directly on the Caribbean coastline
• •El Castillo served as a lighthouse to guide canoes through gaps in the reef
• •The city walls are up to 5 meters thick, enclosing the ceremonial center
• •Dedicated to the Descending God, a unique deity depicted diving from the sky

Location

Coordinates: 20.2145, -87.4291