This is Mexico. With spectacular colours and flavours, thriving wildlife, sacred history and swimming, Xcaret Eco Theme Park, six kilometres south of Playa del Carmen, combines a wildlife sanctuary, an archaeological site and dozens of activities to delight and inspire.
For the Mayan people who populated the Yucatán Peninsula, at the centre of the cosmos was a tree symbolising the four directions and the axis connecting the underworld, the sky and the earth. There’s no better place to experience this connectivity, the sacredness of trees and all nature than at Xcaret Eco Theme Park.
At Xcaret’s beaches, you can swim with dolphins and nurse sharks in the jungle, there’s a chance to learn about the many plant conservation efforts here. Guided trails lead past special Mayan trees and endangered plant species, whilst in the butterfly pavilion, hundreds of rare butterflies flutter overhead. There are orchids and pineapples, bat caves, flocks of rainbow-coloured macaw parrots and more wildlife than you imagine.
Go underground to swim the 800-metre river and you’ll see the beautiful underworld that makes this place so special. Stalactites hang down from the roof, and the cavern walls are embedded with marine fossils. The water of the river is clear and gently flowing. Shafts of light filter through natural openings above the river, illuminating the tranquil world below.
People have been coming to bathe in these streams and lakes at Xcaret for nearly two thousand years. The oldest buildings here may well date to 200 A.D. Over time, the Mayan people built a trading port and a ceremonial centre at Xcaret. Temples and other ancient buildings stand clustered within a protective wall, waiting for you to uncover their mysteries.
Stay at Xcaret Eco Park after the sun goes down and you’ll be treated to a spectacular musical retelling of Mexican history with hundreds of performers and dancers in vibrant costumes. A day is just not long enough to see everything at this stunning park.
