Service Date : Adults $119.00 USD: Children $74.00 USD: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Recalculate TOTAL :  $119.00 USD
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DESCRIPTION:

An incredible natural aquatic theme park and Mayan archaelogical ruins.

Our excursion begins by picking up passengers according to time or scheduled from the lobbies of all major Cancun and Riviera hotels. Check-in will be performed at our terminal prior to departure in a deluxe motor coach or van. Manor price applies for children whose height is between 44” and 55”.

Xel-há means 'where the waters are born' in the native Mayan. A settlement was formed around the waters in the 1st Century, which had become a coastal port by 800 CE. It is likely that it formed just one of a chain of such ports, which includes the neighbouring Tulúm, through which merchants could interchange goods. Trade would also have come via the picturesque Caribbean Sea.

Arguably the most dramatic moment in Xel-há's history came with the arrival of the Spanish in 1527. Conquistador Francisco de Montejo sought to turn Xel-há into the first Spanish settlement on the Yucatán peninsula. He changed its name to Salamanca de Xelhá and stationed his troops there. Unfortunately for his ambition, disease, deprivation and the resistance of the local Mayans soon reduced the number of his men. Montejo resorted to the desperate measure of scuttling his own ships, in order to stop any of the remaining Spanish from leaving.

They managed to stabilize their position in the settlement enough to attempt unsuccessful sorties into neighbouring areas, but over half of Montejo's men were killed in battle with the Mayan near the to the River Ake. Meanwhile, most of the 65 conquistadores, left behind to govern Salamanca de Xelhá were massacred by its residents. The whole expedition was in a sorry state by the time that another of Montejo's ships arrived with supplies from Santo Domingo. Eighteen months after arriving, Conquistador Francisco de Montejo abandoned all hope of subduing the eastern coast of the Yucatán peninsula and so left the port to its Mayan population.

Xel-há continued to be occupied until the 19th century, though most of its buildings date from three centuries before. These days, it is better known for its open sea aquarium, where snorkelling and sea treks allow visitors to get up close and personal with 70 different species of freshwater and seawater fish. Visitors can jump off cliffs into crystalline waters; lounge on hammocks on white sand beaches; discover the jungle, on foot or on a hired bicycle; or vist the El Dorado cave, with its unique geological formations around a blue-green pool. The list is endless in this natural eco-park. A highlight is surely the chance to swim with the dolphins, though that is charged as extra.

 

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