Tulum

Tulum

Tulum is the site of an old city built by the Maya people before Europeans arrived in the Americas. It was a busy port for another Maya city called Coba, located in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins of Tulum sit on tall cliffs along the Caribbean Sea, offering great views of the ocean.

Tulum was one of the last cities the Maya built, becoming most important between the 1300s and 1400s. Even after Spanish explorers came to Mexico, Maya people still lived in Tulum for about 70 years. But by the late 1500s, the city was left empty. Today, Tulum’s ruins are very well preserved, and many visitors come to see them each year.

History and description

The ancient city of Tulum stood on high cliffs by the Caribbean Sea. It was one of the last cities built by the Maya people and became important between the 1300s and 1400s. Tulum had strong walls to protect it and was a key place for trading goods like obsidian.

Explorers first wrote about Tulum in the 1800s. Since then, many scientists have studied the site. They found that people lived there from around the year 1200 until the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. The city was then left empty. In recent years, divers found very old bones in nearby caves, showing that many different kinds of people lived in the area long ago.

Architecture

Tulum has buildings that look like other Maya sites on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. These buildings have steps around the bottom and sit on a low base. The doors are usually narrow, and big buildings have columns for support. The walls get wider as they go up and have decorations near the top. Inside, there is usually one or two small windows and an altar at the back, with a roof made of beams and rubble or a vaulted ceiling. This style is similar to buildings in Chichen Itza, but smaller.

Tulum was protected by steep sea cliffs on one side and a big wall on the other. The wall was tall and long, with small watch towers at the corners and five narrow gates. The wall shows how important safety was to the Maya when they chose this place. The sea side had cliffs, except for a small beach where canoes would come in. A small cenote near the wall gave the city fresh water. This strong wall makes Tulum one of the best-known fortified Maya sites.

There are three important buildings at Tulum. These are El Castillo, the Temple of the Frescoes, and the Temple of the Descending God.

Temple of the Frescoes

The Temple of the Frescoes has a lower room and a smaller room on top. It was used to watch the sun’s movements. The outside has figures of a Maya “diving god.” A picture on the wall shows a style from highland Mexico, but visitors cannot go inside anymore.

Temple of the Descending God

The Temple of the Descending God has one room with a door on the west side and a narrow staircase on top of an older temple. At the top of the door is a sculpture with wings, a headdress, and something in its hands.

El Castillo

El Castillo is a pyramid that is 7.5 meters tall. It was built on an older building with columns and a roof made of beams and mortar. The pyramid seems to have been built in steps. A small shrine on top may have been used to guide canoes. This shrine marks a break in the reef where canoes could land, which might be why the Maya chose this spot for Tulum. The city became an important trading port later on during the late Postclassic.

Trading

Tulum was an important place for trading. Traders brought items like salt and cloth by boat. They sent out things like feathers and copper to other places. These goods could travel far by sea to rivers that lead inland.

The rivers near Tulum, like the Río Motagua and the Río Pasión, started in the highlands of Guatemala and flowed into the sea. Tulum was a big center for trading valuable items like jade and obsidian. The obsidian came from a place called Ixtepeque in Guatemala, far away from Tulum. This shows how important Tulum was for trade.

Tourism

Tulum is a famous place to visit because it has ancient Maya ruins near beautiful beaches. It is close to the popular tourist spot Cancún and the Riviera Maya, so many people come here every day to see the old buildings. Tulum is one of the most visited ancient sites in Mexico, after Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza.

The area around Tulum has natural pools called cenotes, and the beaches are known for their white sand. Tulum has places to stay and visit, including the ruins, a small town, a hotel area, and a nature reserve called Sian Ka'an. Some people worry about how tourism affects the environment in Tulum.

Safety

Tulum is a safe place for most visitors. The main safety worries are natural events, like hurricanes. These can happen between June and October.

Climate

Tulum has a tropical savanna climate. This means it has a clear dry season. The climate type is called Aw in the Köppen Climate Classification system.