Drive the Puuc Route
The Mayan day of doom, December 21st, is almost upon us. There’s no better way to commemorate the occasion than to actually visit some of Mexico’s finest Mayan ruins. A mere hour’s drive south of Merida is the Puuc Route. This hillier region of the Yucatan attracts fewer travelers than the better-known sites of Chichen Itza and Tulum since it is farther from the resort towns of Cancun and Rivera Maya. The rounded pyramid at your first stop, Uxmal, stands majestically on high ground. At the Nunnery Quadrangle, four buildings just behind the pyramid, serpents and heads of jaguars can easily be seen on the motifs. Other Mayan sites along the Puuc Route are also worth a quick detour. Kabah is known for its almost maniacal façade of 250 Chaac sculptures that line one wall. Walk past the wild turkeys and brilliant red birds in the forest of Sayil to reach its grand palace.