Oxkintok & Calcehtok Tour Serenity Of Maya Purification - Explore A Different World

Approx. 8 Hour Tour

The tour is not suitable for children under 10 or people with limited mobility

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Visit to one of the oldest caves in the region of calcehtok

Visit to the ruins of de oxkintok

Mayan ceremony and purification of the spirit

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A great day trip from Mérida – only 43 miles away – a visit to the Oxkintok ruins and nearby Calcehtok caves makes a wonderful adventure! Oxkintok, “Three Flint Suns” or “Three Day Flint”, was once an  important ceremonial center in the Puuc region. Hieroglyphic inscriptions show some of the oldest dates known in Yucatán.

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Oxkintok is the oldest and most well known building of Oxkintok is the Tzat Tun Tzat, Mayan for labyrinth or place in which one may be lost. Built in three levels on top of each other, its interior forms a maze of long, narrow rooms, connected by small gates and narrow stairs. A grave found on the site included a jade mask and symbols of power and authority were painted on the floor, leading archaeologists to believe it was the burial place of a great lord. It has been speculated that it might have served as a mausoleum, or represented the three levels of the Mayan world-view, or may have been built as a man-made cave. It’s easy to get lost as you wander through the rooms, speculating on their original purpose.

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Like all-important Mayan cities, Oxkintok had a ball court. A huge, fragmented ring with a hieroglyphic inscription was discovered during excavation. Near the ball court, a circular hole has been unearthed, and experts believe that it is an ancient steam bath used for the purification and cleansing of the ball game players and pregnant women.

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Another item of archaeological interest is the Chultun. Cisterns of Oxkintok were used to collect rainwater. These bottle-shaped receptacles have immense capacities, ranging from 1500 to 25,000 liters.

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Many of the artifacts found during digs at this site can be seen at the Museum of Anthropology in Mérida. 

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Only a few kilometers away, the Calcehtok Caves, also called Xpukil caves, served as shelter for the Mayan people during theMaxcanu CalcehtokCaste War. Their name is derived from the Mayan words CAL (neck), CEH (deer) and TOK (stone), after a carved deer was found at the site. Evidence shows they were also in use at the time of Oxkintok’s peak; archeologists have found many pre-Hispanic objects, such as quartzite hammers, obsidian arrowheads, animal bones, ceramics, and human graves.

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You must have a guide to enter the cave.  This large complex of over 30 connected caves offers 4 different tours of varying lengths.  Walking and climbing through the cave can be rough, so be sure you are wearing good shoes and are willing to work a bit to see the stalactites, stalagmites, natural formations, and Mayan artifacts. (Yucatan Today)                     

Includes:

*Tour

*Bottled Water

*Transportation with air conditioning in all tours with English/Espanol guide                

Bring With You:

*Comfortable Cotton Clothes

*Sweater In Case You Are Cold In Van

*Tennis Shoes

* Ha

*Mosquito Repellent

*Sun Glasses

*Camera

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