Not very well-known (probably because it's close to larger, more famous Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, Cobá and Tulum), but certainly worth visiting if you're anywhere nearby, this Mayan ruins dates back to around 400 AD, when construction began on this site. The city of Cobá conquered Yaxunah around 600 AD and they built a 100 kilometer (60 mile) road connecting the 2 cities (the longest the Mayans ever built). Later, the city of Chichen Itza conquered Yaxunah in 950 AD and sacked and ritually destroyed much of Yaxuna, which never recovered, but continued to be occupied. It is much larger than I anticipated (I expected that maybe they'd have 1 or 2 smaller pyramids, but this site is extensive: there is a "sacbe" ("white way") or road connecting it to the Mayan city of Cobá, which is located 100 kilometers away, an observatory, a ball court, 2 pyramids, a market and many more ruins). When we came here, we literally had the place to ourselves. There were no other tourists here during the time we explored this ancient city, which made it even more amazing. I can't describe how eerie it was compared to Chichen Itza because of the loneliness of the archaeological site. The encroaching jungle around the stone structures also was very impressive. Most of the inhabitants we met in the nearby town of Yaxuna were Mayans who still retain their language and customs, which further served to impress the continuity of the history of the area. I've also seen this spelled "Yaxunah" in some places. If you're really interested in history, or Mayan History, or ancient architecture or seeing ancient ruins, it's worth the 3-hour drive from Cancun. You can always combine your visit with many other sites (such as the Lol-Ha Cenote in the town of Yaxuna) along the way and it will certainly be worth it. The roads are in excellent condition for most of the journey, so we were easily able to do this in our rented vehicle using our GPS (remember to keep your map open on Waze because there's no cell service in Yaxunah). read more

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