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Calakmul is an ancient Maya ruined city located deep within a jungle biosphere on the Yucatan Peninsula. Here’s why it’s my favorite archeological site in Mexico!
Not many people make it down to the ruins of Calakmul compared to the other famous Mayan pyramids in Mexico like Chichen Itza or Tulum — mostly due to its very remote location near the border of Guatemala.
Calakmul is far away from any tourist cities, requiring a pretty long & dedicated trip out there to visit the site.
It’s a real hidden gem for those who wish to get off-the-beaten-path!
Located in the Mexican state of Campeche on the Yucatan Penninsula, the ruins are extensive and cover 2 square kilometers (0.77 sq mi).
Many sections have never been excavated, and because it only receives about a dozen visitors per day, it feels like a true “Indiana Jones” kind of experience.
In this travel guide, you’ll learn tips for visiting Calakmul, along with some interesting history about my favorite Mayan ruins in Mexico.
History Of The Calakmul Maya Ruins
Calakmul Archeological Site
The ancient city of Calakmul is thought to have been populated with about 50,000 people. It was “re-discovered” and named by a biologist named Cyruss Lundell, who flew over the area in 1931.
Calakmul means “two adjacent mounds” in the Maya language — which makes sense as I’m sure the two main pyramids just looked like two mountains in the middle of a very flat jungle!
The city was the capital of a large regional state at the time. The Calakmul kingdom included 20 secondary cities such as La Muñeca, Naachtun, Sasilha, Oxpemul and Uxul. The population of the whole kingdom is estimated to be about 1.7 million people!
The equally large city of Tikal in what’s now Guatemala regularly fought with Calakmul — until Tikal won and took over in 700 AD. Eventually the city was abandoned and consumed by the jungle over hundreds of years.
Pyramid Structure 1View From the Top of the Pyramid
Pyramid Structure 1
Among the many interesting structures found there are two gigantic pyramids — called Structure 1 & Structure 2. Structure 1 is the second highest pyramid at Calakmul, reaching a height of 130 feet/40 meters. One thing that makes Calakmul stand out from other sites is that you can climb these pyramids!
The steps of the pyramids are steep, and not very wide — maybe just the length of your foot. Some are narrower than that! You need to be careful climbing, and preferably not afraid of heights. Falling would be a disaster…
View of Structure 1 from Structure 2Climbing the Pyramids
Pyramid Structure 2
The most impressive building in Calakmul is called Structure 2. This pyramid was built up a number of times over centuries to reach a final height of around 150 feet/50 meters.
It is the highest and largest structure in the Maya world. Nine royal tombs have been found inside the pyramid, some containing rich artifacts like jade masks.
Mayan Ball Court
Calakmul has its own Maya Ball Court, where athletes put a rubber ball (representing the sun) into a small stone circle perched very high on a wall, without using their hands OR feet.
Some carvings suggest that the winning team’s captain was decapitated, which was a sign of honor. The ball game is over 3,500 years old, making it the first organized game in the history of sports.
Games were played to resolve arguments between rival cities or as an alternative to all-out war.
Chiik Nahb Acropolis
The Chiik Nahb Acropolis, or “Place of the Water Lilly” is an area to the North of the site. Climbing this Acropolis gives you an excellent view of Structure 2 for photos.
This complex is famous for incredible painted murals recently discovered inside.
Maya Stelae with Red Pigment
Ancient Stone Stelae
Many great stelae can be found at this site too — large slabs of stone that have been intricately carved with pictures and glyphs.
Unbelievably some of them still have their original color pigments showing! It’s crazy that the color has lasted so long…
The Biosphere Reserve
Blue Ocellated Turkey in CalakmulHowler Monkey’s are Loud!
The ruins of Calakmul are located inside the massive Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, 2,792 square miles of protected jungle.
You’ll find all sorts of wildlife living within the reserve, including Ocellated Turkeys, Howler Monkeys, Spider Monkeys, Baird’s Tapir, Tucans, and if you’re SUPER LUCKY — the very elusive Jaguar!
The best time to see wildlife on the drive up to the ruins is early in the morning, or right before sunset in the late afternoon.
Driving to Calakmul through the Biosphere
Getting To Calakmul
Calakmul is much more difficult to reach than other Mayan ruins in Mexico. I’ve visited 3-times now, once through a combination of bus, taxi, and bicycle. Plus twice more with a rental car (it’s much easier!)
Rental Car
The best site to book your car is Discover Cars. They search both local and international car rental companies to help you find the best possible price. This is the easiest way to rent a car in Mexico.
CANCUN – Calakmul is 464 km (6 hours) from Cancun by car. TULUM – The ruins are 334 km (4 hours) from Tulum by car. CAMPECHE – Calakmul is 300 km (4 hours) from Campeche by car.
By Bus/Taxi
The closest town to Calakmul is a small city called Xpujil. There are buses that run from Campeche and Tulum to Xpujil via the Mexican ADO Bus Service.
Once in Xpujil, you can then hire an expensive taxi (the trip still takes an hour or so) to take you to the Calakmul ruins — they will wait while you explore for a few hours.
Camping at Campamento Yaax Che
Where To Stay Near Calakmul
Because Calakmul is basically in the middle of nowhere, you’re going to need to spend a night or two nearby. The closest towns are Xpujil and Chicana. Here are some suggestions for good places to stay during your trip to Calakmul…
If you’re up for an adventure, I highly recommend camping within the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. There are a few campgrounds located inside, and you can even rent a tent if you don’t have your own. The place I’ve stayed during all my trips is called Campamento Yaax Che.
Just be aware that camping overnight in the jungle is a very LOUD experience! Walking around in the dark with howler monkeys screaming at you from the tree tops is something you’ll never forget…
Jungle in All Directions…
Tips For Visiting Calakmul
The ancient ruins of Calakmul are HUGE. Plan to spend at least 4 hours exploring the site, if not more.
If driving from Xpujil, first you’ll have to enter the Biosphere Reserve. From here you still have a winding hour-long drive to the ruins.
Yes, you can climb the ruins! This is rare in Mexico these days, but I think it’s because this site gets so few tourists.
You can hire a tour guide at the entrance for about $600 MXN pesos who will explain the history and culture of the site.
If you go on a weekday around 8am when they first open, you may be the only ones there!
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Want to become a better photographer? Stuck at home in lock-down? Try joining these great online photography classes & courses created by pros to improve your photos.
So, you’ve bought a nice camera. You’ve watched a few YouTube videos.
But why doesn’t your Instagram look as good as other photographers’?
Well, aside from the many years of experience and practice they have under their belts, another likely reason is the hundreds of hours they’ve probably spent working under mentors, attending workshops, taking college courses, or joining online photography classes.
The key to getting better at something — is to never stop learning.
Even after 10-years working as a freelance travel photographer, I’m still actively learning new techniques to improve my images. Photography classes, courses, and tutorials are a big part of this.
So I wanted to share some of my favorite online photography courses.
These photo tutorials go into extreme detail on topics like planning, composition, advanced techniques (focus stacking, time-lapses, long exposure, etc.) post-processing skills, social media tips, and even making money with your photography.
There’s no need to spend thousands of dollars on a college photography degree when you can study from home using these great online photography courses produced by working professionals.
The perfect way to kill some time during this worldwide pandemic we’re in.
The biggest photography tutorial deal of the year is happening right now! Every year, the guys at 5DayDeal.com put together a MASSIVE bundle of photography classes from some of the world’s top photographers in multiple genres like landscape, travel, fashion, portraits, and more.
This is actually 26 different tutorials & courses worth $2,700 — for only $89.
That’s a 96% discount off the regular price if you bought them all independently…
As per the name, the 5DayDeal Photography Bundle is only available between October 15th to October 20th, 2020. For 5-days only.
Some of the highlights for me in this bundle include courses like:
Time Blending & Complex MaskingBy Mads Peter Iversen
How To Photograph Landscapes In Any LightingBy Nigel Danson
Jimmy’s Big 5 Photos CourseBy Jimmy McIntyre
Capture The NightBy Ryan Dyar
Beautiful World FoundationsBy Jessica Drossin
But in total, there are 26 different photography tutorials/courses/presets that you get when you purchase this bundle. Plus 10% of every bundle purchase is donated to charity.
TO SWEETEN THE DEAL: If you buy the bundle using my link below, I’ll also throw in a FREE online webinar where you can watch me edit one of my favorite travel photos in real time!
Daniel Kordan is one of my favorite landscape photographers, and he has an online photography tutorial called Landscape Photography In Depth that shows exactly how he creates his incredible images in a series of videos.
It takes a lot more work than you think it does! I spent many hours watching this course, and learned a lot about scouting locations and post-processing techniques. One of the best tutorials out there.
Alex Strohl is one of my favorite outdoor adventure photographers, so when I learned he created his own online photography class called Adventure Photography Pro, I signed up ASAP! Alex shoots professionally for some HUGE brands, so it was super interesting to learn about this part of his business (along with actual examples on location with clients).
He spends a lot of time going over the storytelling process, the importance of planning & scouting before shooting, reaching out to potential clients, building an audience, his editing techniques, and much more. Make sure to use my discount code VAGABOND20 to get 20% off the price!
Chris Burkard, if you’ve been living under a rock, is one of the most accomplished travel & adventure photographers out there right now. Not only is his photography incredible, his business chops have made him a household name.
From prints, to books, to movies, to huge commercial projects with brands like Apple, Toyota, Sony, The North Face, Patagonia, CitiBank, Microsoft, Volkswagen — Chris seems to do it all!
Well, now you can too, with his Business Of Photography Course that explains when and how to grow your business, diversifying revenue, working with agents, modern marketing techniques, and more. Make sure to use my discount code VAGABOND20 to get 20% off the price!
Professional wildlife photographer Charly Savely captures some of the most incredible photos of animals I’ve ever seen. And, she’s recently decided to share her secrets with the world through her online Wildlife Photography Workshop recorded in Alaska’s Katmai National Park.
Learn how she chooses her lenses, framing for impact, camera settings for handheld or tripod use, using art to influence your style, where to find wildlife, how to photograph animals safely, shooting in the cold, and how she edits her images for an emotional reaction. Make sure to use my discount code VAGABOND20 to get 20% off the price!
Every professional photographer uses post-processing techniques to make their images stand out. In fact, editing & post-processing your images is a major part of the photography workflow. You can’t ignore mastering the skills of photography software if you want to make a living with photography!
Luckily Andrew Kerns put together an amazing online class to help you learn the latest Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop techniques that professionals like him use: manipulating luminance, contrast, color, curves, split-toning, re-touching tips and much more. Make sure to use my discount code VAGABOND20 to get 20% off the price!
Lola Akinmade is an award-winning travel photographer who’s work is regularly published by brands like: National Geographic Traveller, Travel & Leisure, The New York Times, Vogue, Outside, Smithsonian Journeys, the BBC, and The Telegraph to name just a few.
She’s also put together an excellent online photography class that goes into detail about HOW to sell your photos to these types of organizations. From approaching brands, how to deal with copyrights, working with editors, obtaining model releases, seeking out grants and much more.
Elia Locardi is a very successful landscape photographer who’s been traveling the world for years. His course Photographing The World is packed full of tips & post-processing techniques he uses to create his landscape and travel photography.
With 15 lessons and more than 12 hours of video content, his photography tutorial takes you from the on-location capture (in places like Iceland & New Zealand) all the way through his post-processing techniques in the studio.
Want to learn how to compose a better image while telling a story with your camera? Or the technical side of photography like understanding what aperture, shutter speed and ISO really do? These are just some of the topics travel photographer Laurence Norah goes over in his Travel Photography Course.
The course is structured well for complete beginners to photography, but with helpful tips for the business and professional side of things too. With 10 weeks of content and over 60 individual lessons, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy!
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for new Adventure Travel Videos!
Yes, there are thousands of free photography tutorials on YouTube (in fact, here’s one of mine!) While you can certainly learn from them, I find that investing in a paid course provides the highest quality experience.
Maybe I’ll share some of my favorite free photography tutorials in a future article. Because there’s a lot of crap on YouTube too…
The BEST online photography courses demand a TON of time and knowledge to put together, and when done well, they’re just as useful as working under a mentor or taking classes in person.
Developing Your Photography Style
One of the most important aspects of becoming a professional photographer is developing your own personal style of photography. Whether that’s subject matter, editing style, or both.
By learning from other photographers through online classes, you can pick and choose parts of their workflow and style that you like, then adjust for your own use. We all get inspiration from others — it’s just the nature of art.
Learn as much as you can about the craft, then use that knowledge to develop your own signature look and make your work stand out!★
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