Muyil Archaeological Zone
Quintana Roo, Mexico
At a glance
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$$$$ Affordable
The site's original name is unclear. Since Colonial times, one of the lagoons next to the location has been known as Muyil. Chunyaxché is another name for it.
Cultural importance:
It is a settlement that has had a long occupational continuity due to its geographical location. The first material pieces of evidence date from the Late Preclassic (300 - 50 BC), when it would have had links with settlements in northern Belize and southern Quintana Roo, a relationship that was broken towards the Late Classic when it had a relationship with the interior of the Yucatan Peninsula and experienced significant population growth, which is linked to the construction of some of the buildings that still stand today.
Muyil was already an important city by the early Classic (250-600 AD), with notable Petén-style constructions such as El Castillo and the three foundations of the Grupo de la Entrada. Because of its strategic position, it maintained some links, initially with Chichén Itzá and then with Mayapán, throughout the early Postclassic period (1000 - 1200 AD).
Most of the known structures were constructed in the late Postclassic period (1200-1450 AD) when the city grew significantly by integrating itself into the Peninsula's maritime economic networks.
Access:
It is accessible through Federal Highway 307 (Agrarian Reform-Puerto Juárez), which is located 25 kilometers southwest of Tulum and 70 kilometers northeast of Felipe Carrillo Puerto. The site's entrance is right on the federal highway. The tourist can get to the place using public transportation.
