Zona Arqueológica de Yaxchilán

Amazing experience exploring these ruins!! You have to take a tour to come here as it is quite a complicated location. It is a 3 hour drive from Palenque, then you get on a small boat for one hour in the river that is the border for Guatemala and Mexico. You get about 2 hours to visit the ruins but I could have easily spent 3! The archeological zone is very big, make sure you don't miss acropolis south and the other ruins that are tucked away a little bit. You are in the middle of the jungle, you can hear howler monkeys, see spider monkeys and you just feel like an Explorer. I highly reccomend you spend the time and money to go there, you won't regret it!

The place is absolutely outstanding. One of the biggest Maya city-states deep into the second biggest continuous rainforest of the Americas. Hope this is enough for you – it is 100% worth the trouble getting there. The area, however, is politically unstable; check at Palenque how things are before going. We went with a van from a tourism office and it was all very smooth. No one recommended us going by ourselves. You take a van then a boat on Usumacinta river to get there. On the boat ride, ask your driver to stop if he sees a crocodile. There are plenty on the river. The site is completely wild, parts of it feels like you are the first to be there in hundreds of years. You are allowed to go up/inside everything. Use this power accordingly. Treat this beautiful site with respect and responsibility. If you do the “long route” of the site, I recommend you to not lose too much time in the first two acropolis so you have time to see the Grand Plaza. Many of Maya glyphs are actually on the “ceiling of the door” (photos are example). Look up to not miss it. We were soaked with mosquito repellent but were still very much attacked. Probably would have been worse without it – highly recommend you getting a good one.

Our favorite ruins so far. It feels like a big adventure as you load into the lancha and head out, skirting the Guatemala border. The kids were thrilled to so casually “dip into” another country. The ruins themselves are amazing. It felt wild in the jungle with howler monkeys all around. I recommend going up to the Pequeño acropolis first and seeing what’s up top, then coming down into the labyrinth zone last. Don’t dally cause you don’t want to miss the labyrinth. We could have easily spent the entire time in the labyrinth, bring a flashlight!

Impressive is not even beginning to describe these ruins. The jungle itself, the boat ride to it, its all so special. The ruins are spectacular. You get to see bats hanging around inside the temples as well as other wildlife. These are definitely one of my favorites, if only, I could had spend more time there....

A great hidden gem next to the Guatemala border! You need to take the ferry, which is also really good experience. The main pyramid is built on a hill and if you look from the bottom, it is just gorgeous.

It's open! I went on a tour to Yaxilán and Bonampak from Palenque on Tuesday 16th April 2024. It was absolutely incredible and I 100% recommended it. I booked my tour with Pedro from the tour agency inside the ADO bus station. He had the best price compared to two other tour agencies I visited in town. Do the tour! It's 100% worth it. Support the locals. They rely on tourism. I looked into doing the tour myself but transport is complicated and it would end up being around the same price. Have fun!

By far the most spectacular experience I've had in Mexico. This site is like an Indiana Jones experience. It was super well kept and the entrance was cheap. The boat to get there is quite expensive, but worth it.

Incredible. Unexpected. The most magical Mayan ruins I've visited so far. Bodies during the pandemic and we got to explore the park completely alone for 2 hours. If you are in the area, you can't miss it!