Do you want to visit a beautiful and pleasant colonial city near Cancun? Come to Valladolid! Check out our short guide to the top attractions and discover the beautiful cenote right in the center of this city.
Valladolid is almost a toy colonial town in Mexico, so sweet and calm. Colorful houses, narrow streets, funny flags and nice restaurants. It’s hard to believe that once the spark of the Mexican revolution flared up here, and the locals rebelled against the Spaniards!
The city is a convenient point for radial outings of tourists without personal transport. There is a lot to see around Valladolid, so travelers stop for a few days and ride buses, taxis and bicycles around the area.
We also spent 2 nights in the city and then went to Isumal. We lived close to the center in Apartments & Hostal Gayser for 500 pesos a day - this is how much a comfortable apartment with a bathroom, a kitchenette, an air conditioner and a ceiling fan cost.
Attractions in Valladolid
First of all, early in the morning, full of enthusiasm, we went to study what was left of the Spaniards - that is, the colonial heritage. I advise you to do the same, because from 10 o'clock in the morning the hellish heat already begins!
We started from the center - Zokalo... We looked into the square, where a group of Mexicans dance wild dances to primitive rhythms, and then moved down the street Calzada de los Frailes... She attracted attention with cobblestones, fluttering flags, colorful houses and silence. There is little traffic there, and part of the street is blocked off. Calzada de los Frailes is a purely tourist street with restaurants, shops, hotels and cafes. But without ugly souvenir shops, like in the market, everything is very decent, that's why it's so nice to walk there!
The street led us to a 16th century monastery - Convent de San Bernardino de Siena... The monastery is sooo modest because the Franciscans lived an ascetic life. But there is something in this! The church was open and we went through for free. Inside, everything is also very simply tidied up. Come to the monastery also in the evening when there is a light show.
Back we just walked the streets and reached the cathedral in the center - Cathedral of San Gervasio... Inside, it is also modest, so we examined it quickly and went to cool down in the cenote.
Probably the main feature of Valladolid is inexpensive and beautiful cenote Zaci straight in the city center. That's how easy it is! Can you imagine this in Russia? In the middle of the city there is a karst hole filled with amazingly clean and cold water, where fish swim and local residents relax with their families. A paradise shady oasis in the middle of a hot city for only 30 pesos.
There are a lot of people, but no one interferes or makes noise. This was my first cenote, and I was amazed not so much by the natural education as by how the Mexicans correctly preserved and arranged everything. Envy!
What to see in the vicinity of Valladolid
In Zaci, we hung out for a long time. He turned our heads and we completely forgot that we were going to go by car to two more neighboring cenotes - Shkeken (X-Keken) and Samula (Samula). Having come to their senses, we rushed there, because cenotes usually close at 18:00. We did it in 2 hours! Cenotes are cool, read more about them here.
The next day we went to Chichen Itzu, but on the way changed their minds: why look at such an expensive and promoted attraction, if our plans include much steeper and more authentic Mayan ruins? IN Ek-Balam didn't go for the same reason. If you have your own transport, it is better to pay attention to lesser known ruins, for example, go to Calakmul or Uxmal - there you can climb almost all the pyramids, unlike Chichen Itza.
Instead of the famous ruins, we dropped in for an hour. cenote Ik-Kil (Ik-Kil). We came to the opening, but even at such an early time there were already people there. And 10 minutes after the opening, a whole bus of our compatriots arrived! Apparently, they are being brought in before Chichen Itza. As a result, we were able to enjoy the silence in a beautiful cenote for only 10 minutes.
Read more about these and other top Mayan cenotes in the Yucatan.
On MAPS.ME near the Ik-Kil cenote, I saw Balancanche cave (Grutas de Balankanche) - "Throne of the sacred jaguar". An important place in Mayan culture, but completely unknown among tourists! We made a bet on the cave, and we paid right. It was the brightest impression of the day: mysterious darkness, giant stalactites and stalagmites, stale air and silence, broken only by the squeak of bats.
That's all! On this we finished and went to the magical yellow city of Isamal.
What else can you see around Valladolid? There are many places! Rate your time and effort, read reviews and choose. We have not visited places for which there are no links, so we just list what else is near the city.
- Take a trip to the pink lakes and flamingos. We saw them on the way to Valladolid.
- Cenote Saamal
- Ruins of Ek-Balam.
- The ruins of Chichen Itza.
