Tulum Ruins Self-Guided Walking Tour

Welcome to the Tulum Tour

Ah, Tulum. This beautiful ancient city is located on the edge of a cliff in Quintana Roo. The city overlooks the Caribbean ocean and is quite something in person. What draws tourists is its location. Standing on a bluff, the city faces the rising sun with views of the Caribbean – Ah Tulum, so spectacular, so magnificent. 

The Tulum ruins site is compact and easy to explore independently in only an hour or so. The self-guided Tulum tour takes you through the rise and fall of the Mayan empire. Note that this is a tour and not a ticket. To know more about tickets, hotels & excursions, click here.

Make sure to also take the Chichen Itza tour from Tulum to get the most of your Mexican vacation.

About the Tour

Your Tulum Ruins tour begins on the outskirts of this unique archaeological site. As you enter, you’ll learn about the fascinating, complicated history of Mayan society, including why they built things the way they did and why so much mystery surrounds their hieroglyphics.

The first significant structure you’ll see will be the House of the Cenote, where the city’s ancient residents got their water. From here, you’ll have a good view of the walls and watchtower which once guarded this place against outsiders.

Up next is the Temple of the Wind, once a shrine built to honor the wind god. Here, you’ll get a crash course in Mayan religion and the significance of all these temples.

After that comes the Palace of the Great Lord, an imposing structure that this city’s rulers once occupied. Then it’s on to the Temple of the Descending God. Not only is this one of the tallest buildings on the site, but it’s also one of the most detailed, with all sorts of etchings and designs to decipher.

Next, you’ll find the Castle, which is pretty hard to miss. This imposing building is larger than any other in the Tulum Ruins and looms over all of them from atop a bluff. It even has a platform out front dedicated for use by ancient dancers!

The House of Columns comes next, thought by scholars to be a sort of administrative building. As you pass this, you’ll learn the details of the infamous Mayan Calendar, including the fact that it’s two calendars!

Then you’ll reach the Temple of Frescoes, bedecked in so much ancient artwork you’ll be glad you have a tour guide to unpack it all for you! After that are the House of Chultun and the Temple of the Initial Series. These two structures are some of the best examples you can find of ancient Mayan architecture.

As you continue toward the conclusion, you’ll learn about the high-stakes ball games played by the Mayans and get filled in on where the Mayans are today. The truth might surprise you! The Tulum tour concludes here.

Your Tulum Ruins Tour is now available in Spanish as well! Buy it today!

Starting Point Address: Ruinas de Tulum