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Bacalar: The Maya Sun Temple — Private Ruins Tour

By Around Bacalar and Chetumal Tours
10.0 out of 10
Exceptional

Features

  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation

Overview

  • Explore Kohunlich, a hidden Maya site far from the crowds
  • Discover the Sun Temple and its impressive stucco masks
  • Walk through a unique palm forest surrounding the ruins
  • Learn with professional native guides and local insight
  • Optional upgrade to Dzibanché, capital of the Snake Kingdom

Activity location

    • Bacalar
    • Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Meeting/Redemption Point

    • Bacalar
    • Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Check availability

Sorry this activity isn't available on Mon, 25 May
Please choose a different date

What's included, what's not

  • What's includedWhat's included
    Pickup and drop-off from your hotel or agreed meeting point
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Private transport in a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle
  • What's includedWhat's included
    All entrance fees included (Kohunlich and Dzibanché if selected)
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Bottled water and soft drinks throughout the experience
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Snacks during the tour
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Professional bilingual guide (English & Spanish)
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Optional courtesy stop for lunch upon request (meal not included)
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Professional filming or photography is prohibited (tripods, drones)
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Permit for filming with phones or non-professional cameras, if applicable (approx. USD 5)
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Bathroom fees during the drive, if needed (approx. MXN 10)
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Meals
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Service charge

Know before you book

  • Not allowed: Alcohol and drugs, Alcoholic drinks in the vehicle, Drones, Flash photography, Pets, Speakers, Tripods
  • Not suitable for: People with animal allergies, People with back problems, People with epilepsy, People with heart problems, People with insect allergies, People with recent surgeries, People with respiratory issues

What you can expect

There are places that don't make it onto the highlight reels.
Kohunlich is one of them.
Deep in the jungle of southern Quintana Roo, far from the crowds of Chichén Itzá and Tulum, an ancient Maya city waits in near-total silence. Massive pyramids. A forest of cohune palms older than memory. And the Maya Sun Temple — five monumental stucco faces of the Sun God, still intact after more than a thousand years, staring back at you from the stone. The only temple of its kind open to the public, with this level of preservation, anywhere in the Maya world.
This is not a drop-off tour. We pick you up at your accommodation and head south — through small villages, open fields of sugarcane, and the quiet countryside of southern Quintana Roo. An hour of real Mexico before the jungle takes over. We travel with you, wait for you, and bring you back. Your private vehicle, your pace, your day.
At the site, your English-speaking guide brings Kohunlich to life — not with rehearsed facts, but with the kind of stories that only come from people who grew up on this land. You'll climb the pyramids. You'll stand above the jungle canopy. You'll understand why the Maya chose this place.
For those who want to go further, Dzibanché awaits — and this is no ordinary add-on. This was the first capital of the Kaan Dynasty, the most powerful ruling force in the entire Classic Maya world. From here, the Snake Kings commanded Calakmul and dominated the majority of Mayan civilisation for centuries. Walk through two monumental groups, including the Kinichná Acropolis — a massive structure rising 40 metres above the jungle. And if you look carefully at the Temple of the Owl, you are standing in front of one of only two known royal mausoleums in the entire Maya world, the other being the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Chiapas. Most travellers will never know this place exists. You now do.
Private vehicle. English-speaking guide. All entry tickets included. No hidden costs. No rushing.
Just the jungle, the stones, and a civilisation that still has things to say.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
    • Bacalar
    • Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    • Bacalar
    • Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Mexico