Journey to the Land of the Maya
1st day, DEPART FOR MEXICO CITY (D)
Departure from the United States to Mexico City. Upon arrival, and after clearing passport control, we will be met at the airport and proceed to your accommodations at the HOTEL CAMINO REAL. Please check your luggage right through to Mexico City at your home terminal After checking in, time to relax before we have a small welcome reception and dinner
2nd day, In MEXICO CITY (B)
Our morning visit to the world famous Museum of Anthropology that gives us an overview of these great civilizations prior to the European invasion. After lunch on our own, we go to the Aztec Great Temple ruins and museum. The foundations, accidentally discovered in 1978, are all that is left after the Conquistadors demolished the temple. After our visit, we return to our hotel where we have dinner on our own.
3rd Day, MEXICO CITY (Touring to Tula & Teotihuacan): (B)
After breakfast, we depart for the mysterious Toltec city of Tula, an important city from 900-1150AD and best known for its huge 15 foot basalt “Atlantes” statues. We drive through the Valley of Mexico to reach Teotihuacan, known as the “Palace of the Gods”, where heaven and earth, gods and men were bonded together by the laws of the universe. We will walk the “Avenue of the Dead” that connects the Temple of the Feathered Serpent to the immense Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon. We stay long enough to enjoy Teotihuacan’s Sound & Light show after dark.
Note: Dinner (on our own) will be taken between the site visit and the Sound & Light performance, depending on our time schedule.
4th Day, MEXICO CITY-PALENQUE: (B/D)
Breakfast at our hotel. Morning free for independent activities. Maybe take time for some local shopping. At 11:00am our coach will transfer us to the airport for our 1:30pm departure to Villahermosa. Arrival at 2:45pm. Our coach meets us and we proceed to LaVenta Park, where we see the five massive Olmec heads with African features, sculpted from basalt. Then travel through the Tabasco lowlands to Palenque and our reserved accommodations at the CHAN KAH RESORT. Dinner at our hotel.
5th Day, in PALENQUE: (B/D)
A full day enjoying Palenque, unique among Mayan sites, in a superb emerald jungle setting complete with howlers & spider monkeys and jaguars. We explore the architecture and decoration of the region including the stone slab lid of the tomb of Pacal which according to Erich von Daniken, depicts, in intricate bas-relief, an ancient astronaut. Dinner and overnight at our hotel.
6th Day, PALENQUE-UXMAL: (B/D)
An early morning departure as we leave the lush Chiapan jungle and enter the Yucatan peninsula, passing through villages and small towns of modern day Maya. We then head inland to the Puuc Hills where our destination is Uxmal. After checking into our accommodations and having dinner at the HACIENDA UXMAL, enjoy a Sound & Light show
7th Day, MERIDA: (B/D)
Breakfast at our hotel and then we are off to visit the ruins of Uxmal in the arid Puuc Hills where Chac the Rain God ruled supreme. Our sightseeing will include the Pyramid of the Magician, at 120 feet the easiest of the Mayan Pyramids to scale and the Palace of the Masks in Kabah, with its 300 masks of Chac. Then it’s to Merida, the bustling Yucatan capital and known as the “white city”. Our reserved accommodations are at the delightful HOLIDAY INN. Late dinner at our hotel.
8th Day, MERIDA: (B)
Today’s destination is the archaeological museum of Hecelchakan as we explore Mayan life through the lifelike pottery figurines from the island of Jaina. Later we will visit the Anthropology Museum and the colorful marketplace. If time, a chance to explore and shop in this charming city and dinner on your own dinner
9th Day, MERIDA-CHICHEN ITZA: (B)
Sunrise celebrates the Vernal Equinox as we wake up before dawn to drive to Dzibilchaltun, one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in the Americas, where the Temple of the Seven Dolls aligns to the rising of the sun at the Vernal Equinox. We then continue to Chichen Itza to inspect “El Castillo”, the Temple of Kukulcan. Here we will see an extraordinary event–the light-and-shadow illusion of the body of the serpent slithering up the northface staircase. The day ends with a Sound & Light show as we go to our accommodation at the MISSION INN HOTEL. Dinner on our own.
10th Day, CHICHEN ITZA: (B/D)
Today is a national holiday and Chicen-Itza is party central. Over 40,000 colorfully dressed Yucatec Maya come from far and near to celebrate. Mayan Elder Hunbatz Men will give an address to the assembled crowds to share information received during a thirty day vision quest with 40 other Mayan Elders. As we celebrate, we have a farewell dinner and overnight at our hotel.
11th Day, DEPART FOR THE USA: (B)
Early breakfast and a very early departure for a short visit to the Balancanche caves. To the Maya, these like all caves were an access point to Mother Nature. We continue to Cancun Airport for departure back to the States.
NOTE: This is a sample itinerary for group tour leaders. For more information about how to form a group and travel free, please visit: https://bodymindspiritjourneys.com/form-a-group-and-travel-free