Things to do in Celestun

Playa Norte Celestún

Playa Sur Celestún

Ojo de Agua Baldiosera

Guardianes de los Manglares de Dzinintún

2026 Americas 50 - Best Things to Do

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza is an ancient Maya city ruin located in eastern Yucatan, Mexico, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At the heart of the site is the Kukulkan Pyramid, with approximately 91 steps on each of its four sides, which, together with the top platform, total 365 steps, corresponding to the number of days in a year and reflecting the Maya's precise astronomical calendar. Around the spring and fall equinoxes each year, at sunset, sunlight casts a winding serpent-shaped shadow on the pyramid's steps, as if the feathered serpent god Kukulkan were slowly descending the stairs, and this wonder, a clever combination of architecture and astronomy, attracts large numbers of visitors who make special trips to see it every year. The site also contains a massive ancient ball court, the Plaza of a Thousand Columns, the Temple of the Warriors, and the Wall of Skulls. The stone walls of the ball court are carved with reliefs of players, and the Plaza of a Thousand Columns consists of densely arranged stone columns that once supported a huge colonnade roof. The site also includes a sacred well, a natural limestone sinkhole, where the Maya once held sacrificial ceremonies and threw offerings into the well; today, visitors can pause by the well and take in this ancient and mysterious history.

Guía de Turistas Celestún Yucatán

JALTUN PARQUE ECOTURISTICO

Muelle de Celestún

San Joaquin Camp.

No. 8 of Best Things to Do in Mexico

Ik Kil Cenote

Ik Kil Cenote is located on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, not far from Chichen Itza, and is a naturally formed open-air cenote. "Ik Kil" means "place of the wind" in the Mayan language; it was considered a sacred site in ancient Mayan civilization and was once an important location for Mayan sacrificial rituals. Cenoteopening is nearly circular with a diameter of approx. 60 m. The surrounding stone walls extend almost vertically downward, with a drop of approx. 26 m from the ground to the water surface, and the water is approx. 40 m deep. The stone walls are covered with lush green vegetation, and long vines hang from the edge of the opening down to the water. When looking up from the water, sunlight streams in through the circular opening, making the vines look like a green waterfall suspended in the air. Follow a hand-carved stone staircase down to the water. There are nearly 100 steps. Once you reach the water, you can swim in the clear freshwater. The cenote features a diving platform for visitors to experience cliff diving. Black catfish swim in the water, adding a touch of wild charm to this natural pool.