I made my first pilgrimage to the Maya ruins of Tulum in 1995. The archaeological site is located about 40 miles south of Playa del Carmen on Mexico's Caribbean coast. Though modest and architecturally simple compared to Classic Maya sites, such as Uxmal and Chichén Itzá, Tulum has one of the most beautiful idyllic settings of any city built by the Maya. The tranquil and well-preserved ruins are perched on a rocky cliff above a secluded swimming beach along the Caribbean Sea. Tulum's spectacular photogenic coastline has powdered sugar sands, cobalt water and balmy breezes, making it a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.
Tulum was one of the last great ritual centers built by the Post-Classic Period Maya (900–1500 AD). The site might have originally been called Zama, meaning City of Dawn, because it faces the sunrise. The city had access to both land and sea trade routes, making it an important trade hub for honey, jade, turquoise and cacao beans. Tulum is a Mayan word that means wall or fence. Tulum was protected on one side by steep sea cliffs and on the landward side by a broad stone wall that averaged 10 to 16 feet in height. It is this impressive wall that makes Tulum one of the most well known fortified sites of the Maya.
The ancient stone structures of Tulum are surrounded by palm trees, magenta-colored bougainvillea, steep rocky cliffs and a population of large iguanas. El Castillo (the Castle) is Tulum's main pyramid and was used as an ancient lighthouse for navigating the shallow, reef-laden waters off the bay. Among the more spectacular buildings here is the Temple of the Frescoes that included a lower gallery and a smaller second story gallery of wall paintings. The Temple of the Frescoes was used as an observatory for tracking the movements of the sun.
Pilgrims have been coming here for centuries. Recent research has indicated that Tulum was a pilgrimage site for Maya women on their way to the sanctuary of Ixchel on the island of Cozumel. Ixchel was the jaguar goddess of fertility, medicine and birth in ancient Maya culture, and her shrine at Cozumel was visited by large numbers of women from throughout the Maya territories. Ixchel figures prominently in the Tulum temple murals. Many of the coastal towns in the Tulum region have the feminine "Ix" prefix in their names.
Tulum is a tropical nirvana built, according to Maya myth, at the boundary between this world and the next where the created world ends and the infinite Otherworld ocean begins. Here the Maya soul found release into a realm of eternal light and danced forever on the surface of the infinite Otherworldly sea. It is one of my favorite places in the world. The energy is peaceful and transcendent. The world seems more vibrant and alive here. If there is an earthly paradise, it is here!
