Tulum Archaeological Zone

Tulum is a pre-Columbian Maya walled city perched atop 12-metre sea cliffs overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea on the Yucatán Peninsula. It served as a major port and trading hub for the Postclassic Maya, facilitating sea trade in goods such as jade, turquoise, copper, and obsidian along the coast of what is now Quintana Roo, Mexico. The site is protected by a three-sided stone wall — 3 to 5 metres thick — on the landward sides, with the sheer cliff face providing natural defense to the east. Among its principal structures are El Castillo, a pyramid serving as both a temple and lighthouse, and the Temple of the Frescoes, whose murals depict Maya deities amid complex cosmological scenes. Unlike most Maya cities, Tulum was still occupied when the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century, though it was abandoned by approximately 1600 as European diseases decimated the population.