Ancient Ruins of Tulum Tour

The ancient archaeological site of Tulum in the Quintana Roo Riviera Maya area is a must visit destination, and one to be sure to be added to your bucket list. It is located on the Eastern Yucatan Peninsula nearby Cancun in Mexico. This is an excursion you don’t want to miss, and a popular place to visit for those vacationing in the Cancun area.

Depending on which excursion you choose, the ancient ruins of Tulum typically starts with an early morning pick-up. On our Xcaret tour, we were given specialty water bottles filled with water to take with us on the tour.

Tour Options for Visiting the Ancient Ruins of Tulum

Depending on what tour option you choose, there are normally 2 different options presented to visitors looking to access the ancient ruins of Tulum. The first option is:

Tour packages can be purchased separately through Viator, or may be sold with the partnering hotel or Resort that you are staying at in Cancun.

You can also purchase entry tickets at the door if coming alone or with your own group outside of a tour, but it won’t come with any other incentives like a personalized tour guide, food, transportation or other souvenirs that you may find on a group tour.

Entry and Tour Bus Pick Up to the Ruins of Ancient Tulum

The tour officially begins with the tour bus dropping you off at the outskirts of the ancient city of Tulum, known as the “walled city” in which the Mayan’s fortified the city with walls for safety against intruders. Our guide started the tour by explaining the meaning of Tulum. Outside by the bus stops, you will find local merchants selling their artisan crafts that are native to Mexico and the Mayans. Interesting hand-crafted artifacts like stones, custom made masks, hand-crafted items like purses, shirts and of course keychains and souvenirs.

The staff here will be careful to let you know that anyone with specialty cameras such as GoPros or professional videographers must pay an extra fee to obtain footage here, or anything over 60 seconds long.

One popular item found here is the sun stone made of obsidian in order to watch a solar eclipse. Nearly every store here sold one of these. There were also fresh coconuts, drinks and refreshments being served at the food truck stands nearby. After walking through the rows of shops, we finally entered the main entrance of the city of Tulum made of limestone.

The 12 meter tall cliffs are made from limestone, a popular material the Ancient Mayans once used to build most of their structures. It was once known as “Zama” or the city of Dawn.

After walking a limestone filled hilled pathway, you will be brought up a fortified area of limestone that leads to an open field with areas of different structures that resemble tiny pyramids. In other areas, the limestone structures are no longer fully-erected with some of them in terminal decay – but a relic of what was once a prominent ancient Mayan town called Tulum.

Still, one walking through the ancient archeological ruins, you could feel the sacredness and importance of this tiny town in the air.

El Castillo in Ancient Tulum – The Largest Pyramid Structure and Place of Worship

The El Castillo pyramid is the largest structure in the ancient town of Tulum. This building was once used as a watchtower and lighthouse overlooking the Yucatan peninsula and ocean. This structure, like many of the other remaining structures in ancient Tulum were carved out of limestone, a popular material in ancient times.

These limestone walls were also carved out to serve as a defense from potential invaders coming from the sea.

The entire area is a sacred area once used by the ancient Mayans as a place of worship. As I began perusing the area, one of the guests in my tour remarked how he could almost “feel the spirits” roaming the area, as the place was once used by the Mayans as not only a place of worship but also for human sacrifice.

Temple of the Frescoes – A Popular Ancient Tulum Ruin

The Temple of the Frescoes is another popular structure once used to track the movements of the sun. It is a two-story structure also carved out of limestone. Here, the tour guide notioned for us to come over and brought up the image of an ancient Mayan girl that was once part of the temple.

The entire tour of this area was a historically informative experience that I found valuable. If you are a history person, then you will love this place.

Perch Overlooking the Sea of the Ancient Tulum

The guide then took us to an area right next to the big “El Castillo” with a beach overlooking the seas. Although there was too much sargassum to swim in the water in June when I went, occasionally they will open up the beach so you can take a quick dip into the waters. I have heard that the view from the sea looking into the big El Castillo pyramid is a beautiful sight. Here on the tree line, you will see several branches. The guide then explained to us that the termites lived in many of the trees.

Archeological Ruins of Tulum – Perfect Half-Day Excursion

The ancient archaeological ruins of Tulum is a great half-day excursion to partake in. Depending on your tour chosen, there may be an option to take an excursion to Xel-Ha waterpark in the afternoon if you chose the Tulum tour/ hybrid Xel-Ha water park option.