Trails through the jungle lead to the ruins of an ancient city. Tree roots and vines engulf the walls of crumbling temples and palaces and a lone pyramid soars above the forest canopy. Silence reigns, the only noise the rustle of leaves in the breeze and the distant cry of a hunting hawk. The mysterious Mayan metropolis of Cobá is ready to reveal its secrets.

Forty-two kilometers inland from Tulum and a 90-minute drive from Cancún, Cobá is one of the Maya World's largest archaeological sites and has an extension of around 70 square kilometers. The city is clustered around five shallow lakes, which would have provided fresh water in ancient times, and its name in Maya means “waters ruffled by the wind.”

The city reached its peak during the Mayan Classic period, A.D. 250-900, when it was a regional capital and an of a stela or standing stone were found. About 70 meters to the southeast of the pyramid is Stela 20, the best preserved carved sculpture at the site. It depicts a lord standing important trade center, distributing goods to and from the eastern seaboard, Central America and cities in the Yucatán. Commodities such as honey, beeswax, cotton, henequen, cacao and copal incense would have been bartered for sting ray spines, spiny oyster shells and salted fish from the coast and jade, obsidian, quetzal feathers and gold from Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and other parts of Central America.

Archaeologists believe that Cobá had links with the Guatemalan city of Tikal, pointing to certain architectural similarities in the earliest buildings at the site, for example, pyramids, false arches, lintels, huge, roughly cut blocks and a coating of stucco plaster which was painted red.

Cobá also had ties to coastal cities such as Tulum and some lesser structures at the site are built in the East Coast architectural style characterized by small temples decorated with niche figures of a descending god, smooth walls, flat roofs and walls that tilt outwards. Furthermore, the city was a rival of Chichén Itzá, preventing the southern expansion of its powerful neighbor.

At its peak, Cobá was inhabited by up to 70,000 people. Unlike other Classic period cities which suffered a catastrophic decline and were abandoned for a variety of reasons including drought, famine and warfare, Cobá did not suffer the same fate and was still trading during the Post-Classic period (A.D. 900 – 1521) albeit with diminished influence.

Exploring the site
Cobá is so vast that only a small area of the ancient city has been restored. Indeed, one of the thrills of a visit is exploring the trails through the jungle and coming across ruined temples. You can almost imagine what it must have been like for the first European visitor, German explorer Teobert Maler, who studied the site in 1891 after hearing tales of mysterious carved stones and giant paintings hidden deep in the forest.

The jungle at Cobá is medium growth tropical forest, rich in flora and fauna. Easily recognizable for their straight and smooth green trunks which turn grey with age, a row of majestic ceibas or silk cotton trees crowd round the entrance to the park. Called yaxche, the ceiba is the sacred tree of the Maya and it played an important role in ancient cosmogony. An immense ceiba or world tree stood at the center of the earth (Cab), its branches reaching up towards the heavens (Caan).to support the sky and its roots extending down into the Underworld (Xibalbá). Other forest trees you'll see during your visit are chicozapote, cedar, chaka, guarumbo, tropical fig, mahogany, chechen, wild tamarind and a variety of palms and vines. Orchids and bromeliads festoon the branches.

Keep a look out for local wildlife; you'll see iridescent blue morph butterflies flitting through forest clearings, turquoise-browed motmots, parrots, woodpeckers, hummingbirds and hawks. You may even be lucky enough to see toucans, spider monkeys, agoutis, iguanas and crocodiles in the lake between the archaeological site and the village of Cobá.

The most famous building at Cobá is the Nohoch Mul pyramid. Standing 42 meters high, it is the tallest pyramid in the northern Yucatán and the views from the top are spectacular. The pyramid staircase leads to two temples where offerings of animals, conch shells, jade and a fragment on the back of a bound captive, surrounded by three other courtiers who appear to be paying homage to their ruler.

Other building groups at the site are the Cobá group, the oldest at the site, La Iglesia, another 24-meter-high pyramid crowned by a temple, the Ball Court, Las Pinturas, Xaibé or the Crossroads Pyramid and the Macanxoc group which has nine circular altars and eight stelae. Over 30 stelae, altars and carved panels have been found at the site but as most are eroded, epigraphers have not been able to reconstruct Cobá's complete dynastic history as they have in other Maya World cities.

Cobá is also famous for the sacbes or Mayan causeways that radiate from the heart of the city. To date, 45 of these roads have been detected at the site including the longest sacbe in the Maya World which links the city with Yaxuná, near Chichén Itzá and is 101 km long. Archaeologists believe that sacbes had multiple functions, for example they were used for ceremonial processions, to move trade goods and military forces, to mark territory and a city's control over resources and vassal states.

Exploring Cobá with Thomas More Travel
The standard tour of the ancient city also includes a stop to cool off in the crystal-clear waters of the Gran Cenote or sinkhole and a visit to the Aktun Chen Caves.

From Rappel to Ruins
An alternative is to sign up for a trip to Chimuch, a day of jungle adventures that will take you to Cobá and the Mayan village of Tres Reyes. The thrills start at the side of an immense sinkhole in the forest where you rappel down the face of a cliff. Millions of years ago, this hollow would have been a limestone cave until the roof weakened and finally collapsed as a result of erosion.

A short walk through the forest then takes you to the Chimuch cenote. “Chimuch” means “mouth of the frog” in Maya, a reference to the gaping fissure in the ground you have to climb through to reach this underground cenote. A wooden ladder leads down to the still, clear blue waters of the lake. Its mirror-like surface reflects stalactites and stalagmites and an underwater city of columns and pillars that stretches away into the darkness. The place has such an air of mystery that you begin to understand why caves and cenotes were such holy places for the ancient Maya.

Ever wanted to try zip lining? At the next stop on this trip you'll fly through the trees and over a small lagoon. It's a wonderful sensation; just remember to use your brake stick when your guide tells you to!

Another trail leads you through a stand of tropical forest where spider monkeys can sometimes be spotted foraging in the trees, to the shores of one of the lakes in the Cobá area where you'll board a kayak and follow your guide for a spot of water-borne exploration.

During your visit to Tres Reyes, you'll also meet the Mayan inhabitants, see how they live and learn about their traditions. Available through Thomas More Travel, this trip is offered by Alltournative.

Contact tourdesk@royalresorts.com to find out more about the trips available to Cobá.